A rising Democrat in New York politics, Hakeem Jeffries is the odds-on favorite to win in November's election for the 8th Congressional District. He's already won big this year, having defeated political firebrand Charles Barron in a local face-off for that seat. Now he has set his ambitions even higher. Since 2007, when Jeffries first became an assemblyman, he has quickly emerged as a champion of working families and a strong advocate for education reform. He fought to eliminate the New York police department's controversial stop-and-frisk database. He also recently sponsored measures to strengthen tenant regulations and to facilitate the successful societal re-entry of formerly incarcerated individuals.

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