Hakeem Jeffries announces for Congress.

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries announced his campaign for Congress amid frigid temperatures and a large cheering crowd this afternoon, setting the stage for what will be one of the most high-profile Democratic primaries this election cycle. Standing on the steps of Brooklyn's Borough Hall, Assemblyman Jeffries outlined his Congressional pitch in short punctual sentences, pausing before concluding "We deserve more!" after each line of thought, a slogan also repeated on the campaign signs behind him.

"Washington is broken. Congress is dysfunctional. People are suffering. We deserve more!" he declared. "All throughout the neighborhoods of the 10th Congressional District, there are individuals in significant distress. There are children who are trapped in a failed public school system. There are families in desperate need of affordable housing. We have too many guns, and too few jobs. We deserve more!"

The Assemblyman's announcement places him on a collision course against veteran Congressman Ed Towns and Councilman Charles Barron. Congressman Towns has successfully faced competitive primaries in the past, but Assemblyman Jeffries, who's considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, could provide the most serious challenge yet to the 20-year incumbent.

Despite his two Democratic opponents, Mr. Jeffries saved most of his criticism for the national Republican Party. "I'm going to fight for our president Barack Obama. Now I think he's doing a pretty good job. He's got the intellectual capacity of W. E. B. Du Bois and he's calm, cool and collective like Denzel Washington," he said to applause. "There are people in this country who seem so obsessed with wanting to destroy his presidency, they're willing to take the entire American economy down with him."

Watch the video below: