A new generation of Democratic candidates, many of whom are running to replace older incumbents, are emerging ahead of the 2024 and 2026 elections. This trend is fueled by a desire for fresh leadership and a growing disconnect between older politicians and the needs of younger voters.
Deja Foxx celebrated her April birthday in a way most 25-year-olds don’t. The extra candle meant she was now eligible to represent Arizona in Congress, and Foxx marked the occasion with a fundraiser. She’s part of a wide-ranging group of young Democratic candidates, many running to replace older incumbents, who have grown restless waiting for their turn to lead their party back to power.
In southern Arizona on Tuesday, Foxx is one of several Democrats hoping to step into a deep blue seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a longtime political power broker in Tucson. He had become one of the most senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill over two decades in Congress. Grijalva's daughter, Adelita, is one of the contenders, and three Republicans are vying in the GOP primary. But the push for younger leaders won’t end there. In next year’s midterm elections, primary challengers have already begun to emerge in states like California and Indiana that will give Democratic voters choices between longtime lawmakers and younger candidates., 80-year-old Democratic Rep. David Scott’s decades-long legacy could end with a primary he’s expected to join. This has drawn challengers fed up with his refusal to step aside despite years of concern about his declining health and rare public appearances. The primary got crowded almost a year after former President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election race amid similar scrutiny over his age. Challenging well-connected candidates can be daunting, but progressive leaders say the moment calls for urgency. “Passing of the torch implies the leaders are handing it off,” said Amanda Litman, head of a group called Run for Something that bolsters progressive young candidates. “What we’re seeing right now is, the new generation is taking the torch. They’re not waiting for it to be passed.”Many Boomer and Gen Z candidates alike have largely abandoned the traditional playbook of spending millions on TV ads in favor of TikTok and social media. But it's a pivot that older political hands would recognize from an older playbook: meeting voters where they are. Foxx, a digital strategist, led influencer strategy for Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign bid. On TikTok, she speaks to nearly 400,000 followers, saying she’d be the first woman of “our” generation elected to Congress. In 2022, Florida voters elected the generation’s first congressman — Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost. The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, which Frost co-chairs, has endorsed Adelita Grijalva. Foxx has leaned into popular Gen Z internet slang in branding her district tour “Crashout or Congress.”Foxx said her campaign turned a corner after a primary debate in late May, when some clips of her performance drew the eyes of millions and helped spark a fundraising boost. If Scott seeks another term in his suburban Atlanta district, he'll face several candidates in the Democratic primary next May: microbiologist and state Rep. Jasmine Clark, 42; state Sen. Emanuel Jones, 66; and 33-year-old Everton Blair, former chair of the state’s largest school district. Scott's campaign did not respond to requests for an interview. Clark racked up 7,000 TikTok followers after a popular influencer reposted her. She occasionally pops in with solutions to people’s problems on NextDoor and is sometimes recognized as a podcast host instead of a state representative. She says Republicans have done a better job at saturating social media with their messaging. “Instead of looking at Republicans and wagging our fingers at them, we could take some lessons from them,” she said.Voters have been crushed by high living costs, Clark said, but Republicans, not Democrats, have been the ones to tell people their pain is real — even though Democrats have better ideas for fixing thing
Democratic Party Young Candidates Generational Change Political Leadership 2024 Elections 2026 Elections Voter Demographics Social Media Politics
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