‘At some point, you age out’: Obama urges Democrats to pass torch to younger candidates
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Former President Barack Obama says the Democratic Party needs to elevate a younger generation of candidates if it wants to win at the ballot box in the 2026 midterm elections and beyond.
Obama, who was 47-years-old when first elected president in 2008, is warning that older politicians can "age out" and lose a crucial connection to a younger electorate.
"I’m not making a hard and fast rule here, but I do think that Democrats do well when we have candidates who are plugged into the moment, to the zeitgeist, to the times and the particular struggles that folks are thinking about as they look towards the future, rather than look backward toward the past," Obama said in an interview with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen that was published this weekend.
87-YEAR-OLD CALIFORNIA LAWMAKER FACES PRIMARY CHALLENGE FROM YOUNGER RIVAL
There's been plenty of discontent this decade among younger Democrats with some of their party's aging politicians who have resisted bowing out and passing the torch.
NEW DEMOCRATIC GROUP PUSHES FRESH FACES AS PARTY'S BRAND SINKS TO HISTORIC LOWS
That sentiment was amplified by former President Joe Biden's decision to run for re-election in 2024 before dropping out of the race amid serious questions about the then-81-year-old president's physical and mental acuity after a disastrous debate with now-President Donald Trump.
"I’m a pretty healthy 64, feel great, but the truth is, half of the references that my daughters make about social media, TikTok and such, I don’t know who they’re talking about," Obama said in the interview. "There is an element of, at some point, you age out. You’re not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through."
Younger Democrats primary challenging older incumbents is grabbing attention in this year's midterm elections.
AS CONGRESS GROWS OLDER, DEBATE HEATS UP OVER WHEN TO STEP ASIDE
Myla Rahman is aiming to use Rep. Maxine Waters' 35 years in Congress as political ammunition as she challenges the longtime Democratic congresswoman.
The nonprofit executive, Los Angeles native and cancer survivor, who is 34 years younger than the 87-year-old lawmaker, highlighted generational change as she launched a primary challenge last week against Waters.
"People are sick and tired of the same old thing," Rahman told the California Post in an interview.
Waters, who has been in Congress since 1991, hasn't faced a serious primary challenge in over a decade in California's solidly-blue 43rd District, which is anchored in South Los Angeles.
Waters isn't the only long-serving House Democrat from California …
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Former President Barack Obama says the Democratic Party needs to elevate a younger generation of candidates if it wants to win at the ballot box in the 2026 midterm elections and beyond.
Obama, who was 47-years-old when first elected president in 2008, is warning that older politicians can "age out" and lose a crucial connection to a younger electorate.
"I’m not making a hard and fast rule here, but I do think that Democrats do well when we have candidates who are plugged into the moment, to the zeitgeist, to the times and the particular struggles that folks are thinking about as they look towards the future, rather than look backward toward the past," Obama said in an interview with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen that was published this weekend.
87-YEAR-OLD CALIFORNIA LAWMAKER FACES PRIMARY CHALLENGE FROM YOUNGER RIVAL
There's been plenty of discontent this decade among younger Democrats with some of their party's aging politicians who have resisted bowing out and passing the torch.
NEW DEMOCRATIC GROUP PUSHES FRESH FACES AS PARTY'S BRAND SINKS TO HISTORIC LOWS
That sentiment was amplified by former President Joe Biden's decision to run for re-election in 2024 before dropping out of the race amid serious questions about the then-81-year-old president's physical and mental acuity after a disastrous debate with now-President Donald Trump.
"I’m a pretty healthy 64, feel great, but the truth is, half of the references that my daughters make about social media, TikTok and such, I don’t know who they’re talking about," Obama said in the interview. "There is an element of, at some point, you age out. You’re not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through."
Younger Democrats primary challenging older incumbents is grabbing attention in this year's midterm elections.
AS CONGRESS GROWS OLDER, DEBATE HEATS UP OVER WHEN TO STEP ASIDE
Myla Rahman is aiming to use Rep. Maxine Waters' 35 years in Congress as political ammunition as she challenges the longtime Democratic congresswoman.
The nonprofit executive, Los Angeles native and cancer survivor, who is 34 years younger than the 87-year-old lawmaker, highlighted generational change as she launched a primary challenge last week against Waters.
"People are sick and tired of the same old thing," Rahman told the California Post in an interview.
Waters, who has been in Congress since 1991, hasn't faced a serious primary challenge in over a decade in California's solidly-blue 43rd District, which is anchored in South Los Angeles.
Waters isn't the only long-serving House Democrat from California …
‘At some point, you age out’: Obama urges Democrats to pass torch to younger candidates
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Former President Barack Obama says the Democratic Party needs to elevate a younger generation of candidates if it wants to win at the ballot box in the 2026 midterm elections and beyond.
Obama, who was 47-years-old when first elected president in 2008, is warning that older politicians can "age out" and lose a crucial connection to a younger electorate.
"I’m not making a hard and fast rule here, but I do think that Democrats do well when we have candidates who are plugged into the moment, to the zeitgeist, to the times and the particular struggles that folks are thinking about as they look towards the future, rather than look backward toward the past," Obama said in an interview with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen that was published this weekend.
87-YEAR-OLD CALIFORNIA LAWMAKER FACES PRIMARY CHALLENGE FROM YOUNGER RIVAL
There's been plenty of discontent this decade among younger Democrats with some of their party's aging politicians who have resisted bowing out and passing the torch.
NEW DEMOCRATIC GROUP PUSHES FRESH FACES AS PARTY'S BRAND SINKS TO HISTORIC LOWS
That sentiment was amplified by former President Joe Biden's decision to run for re-election in 2024 before dropping out of the race amid serious questions about the then-81-year-old president's physical and mental acuity after a disastrous debate with now-President Donald Trump.
"I’m a pretty healthy 64, feel great, but the truth is, half of the references that my daughters make about social media, TikTok and such, I don’t know who they’re talking about," Obama said in the interview. "There is an element of, at some point, you age out. You’re not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through."
Younger Democrats primary challenging older incumbents is grabbing attention in this year's midterm elections.
AS CONGRESS GROWS OLDER, DEBATE HEATS UP OVER WHEN TO STEP ASIDE
Myla Rahman is aiming to use Rep. Maxine Waters' 35 years in Congress as political ammunition as she challenges the longtime Democratic congresswoman.
The nonprofit executive, Los Angeles native and cancer survivor, who is 34 years younger than the 87-year-old lawmaker, highlighted generational change as she launched a primary challenge last week against Waters.
"People are sick and tired of the same old thing," Rahman told the California Post in an interview.
Waters, who has been in Congress since 1991, hasn't faced a serious primary challenge in over a decade in California's solidly-blue 43rd District, which is anchored in South Los Angeles.
Waters isn't the only long-serving House Democrat from California …
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