A progressive activist’s petition pushing House Democrats to reject Hakeem Jeffries for speaker has topped 1 million signatures, laying bare the party’s post-midterm fractures.
Nicole Whitted, a Democratic-supporting social media creator with more than 210,000 TikTok followers, says the Change.org drive she launched in September has now passed that mark. The petition tells incoming members of the 120th Congress to vote against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for speaker in January 2027 and pick someone else.
Newsweek reported the surge after Democrats flipped both the House and Senate in the midterms. Whitted frames the fight as a test of whether party leaders will answer progressive voters or the “Democratic establishment.”
Jeffries has already made his move. On Wednesday he sent a letter to colleagues formally announcing he is running to be the next speaker. Politico obtained a copy.
"Against all odds, House Democrats were consistently successful in the minority. We must now deliver the dramatic change the American people are demanding in the majority."
That claim of unity did not stop the petition from exploding. Whitted promoted it hard on TikTok. One video drew more than 40,000 likes. In another she said she “never expected it to blow up the way that it did.”
The petition itself is blunt. Its title reads “House Democrats: CHOOSE A NEW SPEAKER.” It demands a competitive election and states, “Hakeem Jeffries is simply not the right choice.” It adds that the speaker “should represent the Democratic voters, not just the Democratic establishment.”
Whitted told Newsweek her opposition runs deeper than any single bill. She cast the moment as a crossroads for the party after what she called historic wins on Tuesday.
"After historic wins on Tuesday, I believe the Democratic Party and our country as a whole is at a crossroads. My opposition to Hakeem Jeffries is about more than any single policy disagreement. It’s about real leadership that aligns with today’s Democratic voter, real accountability, and whether the party is genuinely listening to the voters demanding change."
She also went after Jeffries’ relationships. Whitted said he has longstanding political and financial ties to corporate interests and influential pro-Israel lobbying groups. She pointed to a private August meeting with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and outside advisor, and claimed House Judiciary Committee Democrats are investigating Kushner. Those ties, she said, raise questions about transparency and whose interests leadership serves.
Change.org discloses that Whitted is a Change Ambassador who receives compensation tied to this petition. She has not received confirmation that any House Democrat plans to challenge Jeffries, but she is urging one or more to step forward.
Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo amplified the drive on Bluesky, writing, “Sign this petition if you want a new speaker of the house.” That same pressure campaign is detailed in coverage of how Mark Ruffalo backs petition efforts aimed at blocking Jeffries.
Several newly elevated Democrats have voiced open doubt. William Lawrence, the progressive who flipped Michigan’s 7th District, told Axios in July, “I hope to have an alternative to Jeffries to vote for.”
Chris Rabb, elected in Pennsylvania, said Jeffries “supported a lot of the folks who my endorsees beat, and who made a lot of rhetoric that I found problematic.” Melat Kiros, representative-elect from Colorado, said she would “not vote for any Democrat for a leadership position if they take corporate PAC money.”
Minnesota senator-elect Peggy Flanagan put it plainly on November 4: “I think it’s time for new leadership.” Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin called in June for “significant new leadership,” remarks widely read as aimed at both Jeffries and Senate leader Chuck Schumer.
Not every progressive is on board with the dump-Jeffries push. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in August, “I continue to support Congressman Jeffries and his bid to become the leader.”
Rep. Haley Stevens went further on Wednesday, referring to “our next speaker of the House Hakeem Jeffries.” Stevens had already angered many Democrats before the midterms by endorsing Michigan GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
House Democrats will first settle on a preferred candidate in an internal contest. When the House reconvenes in January, the full chamber elects the speaker. Any member can nominate. Members vote by name. It takes a simple majority of 218. Extra ballots follow if no one clears the bar. The House cannot conduct regular legislative business until a speaker is chosen.
If Jeffries wins, he would become the first Black speaker in American history. That milestone has not quieted the progressive revolt now carrying a seven-figure signature count.
Schumer faces his own left-wing grumbling on the Senate side. The Associated Press interviewed more than a dozen Democratic senators in October and found colleagues still expect him to lock down the closed-door leadership vote with ease. The House fight looks less settled.
Jeffries’ broader posture has drawn separate scrutiny in recent months, including when Jeffries refuses to rule out impeachment talk as Democrats eyed a House return.
Newsweek reached out to Jeffries on Thursday by phone, voicemail, and email outside regular office hours. No reply appears in the reporting.
Whitted’s TikTok pitch left little room for doubt. “He should not be f****** speaker and if you agree you can go sign this.”
That message is landing with a party that just reclaimed power and is already arguing over who gets to wield it. Jeffries has also drawn notice for locking in hard on certain impeachment pushes, a stance tracked when Jeffries locks in as hard yes on targeted accountability fights.
After the midterms he publicly played down one track, saying Trump impeachment was not the agenda, even as other comments kept options open while he sold an affordability message. Those mixed signals sit beside the petition revolt now aimed at his own speakership bid, including earlier stretches when Jeffries says Trump impeachment was off the table and separate remarks that still leave Trump impeachment option open.
House Democrats won the majority. Their progressive base is already circulating a million-signature petition to fire the man who expects to run it. That is the governing coalition voters just hired.
