If you speak to Democratic voters, all they want to focus on is finding someone who can take on President Donald Trump. They complain that Democratic leaders and rank-and-file members are too old, too timid and too deferential, and they’re desperately seeking a new group of pols to take over.
Yet the truth is that Democrats are getting their generational change — through retirements, deaths and intraparty brawls.
The problem is that it’s not happening fast enough for the party base. And that could make for a particularly intense Democratic primary season come 2026.
“People across the board were like, ‘Yeah, he’s got to go,’” said Everton Blair, a former Gwinnett County Board of Education chair, speaking of the 80-year-old Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), who he’s challenging in Georgia’s 13th District.
“‘He used to be strong, and now he’s just really depleted and vulnerable and diminished.’ And I took it upon myself to try to just really do something about it.” Blair is only 33.
The slow shift. The three octogenarian leaders of House Democrats stepped aside in 2022 in a peaceful transfer of power, though Reps. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Steny Hoyer (Md.) and Jim Clyburn (S.C.) are all still in office. Pelosi, 85, remains a force in the party — just ask former President Joe Biden — while 86-year-old Hoyer is leading a Democratic CODEL to Israel. Clyburn, 85, is a sought-after campaign endorsement.
But in the last few years, some of the most senior Democrats have left the House, part of the slow evolution from the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers to younger members.
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) retired in 2024 at age 88. This cycle, Reps. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), 83, Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), 71, and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), 81, opted not to run again. All three were likely to face primary challengers.
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) died in office last year at age 87. Longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) died in office in July 2024 at 74. Her successor, Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), 70, died in office this past March. Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), 77, and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), 75, died this year following long illnesses.
At the committee level, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) dethroned Scott for the top Democratic post on the House Agriculture Committee in the wake of the November elections. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), 78, stepped down from the ranking member post on the Judiciary Committee in favor of Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), 62. Both Scott and Nadler are running for reelection, however.
Connolly’s death created a vacancy for the ranking member position on the Oversight Committee. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), a 47-year-old sophomore lawmaker, easily beat out two far more senior members for the slot.
Primary minefield. The list of veteran Democratic incumbents facing a primary challenger grows longer by the day. Many of their opponents are demanding generational change.
Among the targeted: Pelosi, Hoyer, Nadler, Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Andre Carson (D-Ind.) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.).
“We need leaders, not just more Democratic leaders, but stronger Democratic leaders that are ready to build what comes next,” said George Hornedo, who is challenging the 50-year-old Carson. Carson succeeded his grandmother, the late Democratic Rep. Julia Carson (D-Ind.), who held the same seat from 1996 until her death in 2007.
Kat Abughazaleh, who launched a primary against Schakowsky even before the longtime lawmaker announced her retirement, was an early model for other Democratic challengers.
“If there are any candidates that were inspired by my campaign and felt like they could do it, that’s the greatest compliment I could receive,” Abughazaleh said. “We need more options in our democracy.”
Texas’ mid-decade redistricting may force a particularly poignant example of a generational fight. Under the new proposed map from Texas Republicans, Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a 78-year-old elected in 1994, was drawn into the same district as Rep. Greg Casar, 36, a rising star in the Democratic Party.
They’re not done yet. Despite the turnover, the Democratic Caucus still remains top-heavy with veteran lawmakers.
Eight of the 10 longest-serving House members are Democrats. Fifteen out of the top 20, 24 out of the top 30 are Democrats. Seniority is power, and these Democrats aren’t ready to give it up.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) says she’s running for reelection at age 88, despite widespread doubts about her fitness for office. Scott faces similar questions. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who turns 87 next week, has been in office since 1991.
“Experience still matters,” said the 77-year-old Larson. Larson — who is seeking a 15th term — faces multiple primary challengers, including former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.
“It’s great to be anti-Trump. That appeals to a lot of people, especially our base,” Larson added. “But if you’re not specific to the American people about what you’re going to change and what you’re going to do, they remain skeptical.”
We’ll note that here House Republicans have their share of older members, too. Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), the dean of the House, is 87. Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) is 83, while House Rules Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) is 82.
But Republicans also have seen huge turnover in the Tea Party and Donald Trump eras, so their conference is younger overall. One big reason: Republicans have term limits for committee chairs.
Remember: Vice President JD Vance will visit Indiana today to talk to GOP Gov. Mike Braun and Republican legislative leaders about redrawing the Hoosier State’s congressional map. We scooped this in Tuesday morning’s AM edition.
