Hakeem Jeffries '97 and Scott Peters '84 both win Democratic Congressional primaries

Hakeem Jeffries '97Scott Peters '84Hakeem Jeffries ’97 and Scott Peters ’84 have both achieved victory in their respective primaries and will be the Democratic candidates for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November election.

Jeffries, a member of the New York State Assembly from Brooklyn, celebrated a resounding victory against his opponent, New York City Councilman Charles Barron, on June 26. With 72 percent of the primary vote in New York’s 8th Congressional District, Jeffries has a strong base of support going into the general election. “The political pundits said that this was going to be a close race, but that was before the people had spoken,” Jeffries said to his supporters on election night. “The people spoke with one loud voice, and that’s why we’re going to Washington.” In his candid Guarini Lecture at NYU Law as part of the Leaders in Public Interest Series last fall, Jeffries recounted his successful efforts in the areas of criminal justice reform, particularly in connection with the New York City Police Department’s controversial stop-and-frisk practice, as well as his concerns about housing, education, and unemployment.

Peters, a commissioner for the Unified Port of San Diego and former president of the San Diego City Council, managed a much closer primary victory in California’s 52nd Congressional District on June 5, beating his opponent by 719 votes in a hard-fought contest. He stresses environmental issues, job creation, local government reform, and quality-of-life initiatives.

Posted on June 27, 2012