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IT'S TIME FOR A NEW GENERATION OF DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS

Watch our launch video!

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WHY I'M RUNNING

I’m running for Congress in California's 32nd District because we need a new generation of Democrats to step up if we want to get anything done in Washington. We can’t keep sending the same people back and expecting a different result. I'm running against my former boss because the Democrats who have been in Washington for decades got us Trump twice, and the fight for our future is too important to accept the status quo.

We Need New Democrats in Congress: Support Jake!

Policy

How to Fix Washington

MY 3-PART PLEDGE TO VOTERS

Term limits, rejecting corporate PAC money, and monthly town halls

Here’s how it works: I’ll push for a Constitutional amendment to enact term limits and will only serve five terms because after 10 years every House district should get a new voice in Washington. I won’t take a dollar of corporate PAC money because Congress should put people first. And I’ll hold an in-person town hall in the district once a month because you have to talk to your constituents face to face if you want to represent them.

Every member of Congress could make the same pledge today, and if they did, Washington would work for the American people again tomorrow.

In the News

Politico

Jake Rakov is running against his ex-boss

Jake Rakov, a former staffer to Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), is launching a bid Wednesday to oust his one-time boss. Rakov, 37, is part of a string of Democrats waging intra-party battles against a long-time House incumbents by calling for a generational change in leadership. ...

Rakov served as Sherman’s deputy communications director in 2017. He is active in the LGBTQ+ community in the district and sat on the steering committee for Los Angeles’ Stonewall Democratic Club.

Apr
2
2025

washington examiner

‘A new generation of Democrats’

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) is headed for a competitive primary election next year after his former congressional staffer Jake Rakov launched a primary challenge on Wednesday.

“I’m running for Congress against my former boss who’s been in office for nearly 30 years,” Rakov, 37, said on social media. “It’s time for a new generation of Democrats to step up. We can’t keep sending the same people to DC and expecting things to change.”

Apr
2
2025

NBC News

Democratic voters say their party needs to change

Rakov, who was a staffer for Sherman in 2017, said after Trump took office in January, he saw Sherman making TV appearances using similar messaging and “doing the exact same thing” as he did in Trump’s first term. He said that’s when he knew he had to run.

“I was like, ‘This is exactly what’s wrong with the Democratic Party,’” Rakov said. “If we keep going down this road, it’s gotten us Trump twice. I don’t want to think about what it’s going to get us next time if we don’t change route.”

Apr
14
2025