NEWS

As Democratic voters say their party needs to change and young voters grow more skeptical of traditional party politics, a crop of candidates in their 20s and 30s is stepping in to challenge older Democrats for their seats in Congress.

The primary challengers stepping up against veteran Democrats in recent months are emphasizing young-voter issues and railing against the ways they feel the Democratic Party has failed — from how it’s pushed back on President Donald Trump’s early actions to addressing the rising cost of living.

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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.”

Rakov said Democrats are currently “flat-footed” in their approach to voters and are failing to match the energy and anger from their base as constituents are negatively impacted by the Trump administration. He said he thinks Democrats have gotten “stuck in their talking points” instead of having candid conversations with constituents about the issues affecting them, and he charged Sherman with being absent from his district in recent months.

Rakov said his challenge to Sherman isn’t based on ideological or even generational differences.

“There’s nothing about an age,” Rakov said. “This isn’t a generational argument, but this is about needing to actually get new energy and new voices into Congress on a regular basis. Congress was never meant to be a career.”

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