The GOP's 'election denier' attack on Hakeem Jeffries, explained

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries
(Image credit: Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

On Nov. 30, congressional Democrats elected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as their new party leader for the coming legislative term, replacing outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who earlier announced plans to step back from the role she's held for decades.

Jeffries, long considered a "rising star" in Democratic politics, is now the first Black lawmaker to lead a major political party in American history. But within hours of securing his new position, conservatives began coalescing around a new — and for many, surprising — label for Jeffries: "election denier."

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.