Young Democratic Primary challengers seek to expel members of the House of Representatives, but they say it is not about age

As the Democratic Party takes stock of the first 100 days of the Trump administration and the next mid -period elections of 2026, where the party aims to recover control of the United States representatives, a list of political newcomers challenges the holders of a long time and requests a generational change within the party.

The challenges arise in the middle of a broader debate among the Democrats on how to respond to the Trump administration and reach voters after their losses losses in 2024, and if the party needs younger leaders to revitalize it or if the Democrats should avoid the risk of internal struggles.

The debate was supercharged in recent weeks when the leaders we deserve, a political organization led by the vice president of the National Democratic Committee David Hogg, the survivor of shots of the Parkland School and the activated arms control that will spend $ 20 million to help the youngest leaders, including the main challenges to house democrats who are in safe democratic seats.

The group has not yet announced who is supporting.

“Given the loss we had in the last cycle, many people have expressed their frustration with our leadership,” News Tamia Booker told ABC, a veteran Democratic strategist. “I think what we are seeing now is the branch of that, where people decide to run because they believe they are more effective leaders.”

Jake Rakov, 37, is a main challenger who faces his former boss: representative Brad Sherman, a Democrat who represents the 32nd district of California.

“I am running because we need a new generation of Democrats to take a step forward if we want something to change in Washington; we cannot continue sending the same decade after decade and expect things to change,” Rakov told ABC News in an interview.

Rakov worked for Sherman as director of Deputy Communications in 2017 and since then worked in Los Angeles politics and in some campaigns.

But he criticized Sherman as ineffective, adding: “He likes to show off seniority. He has been transmitted by leadership positions in his committees … Antiquity doesn’t matter if no one is willing to work with you.”

Sherman, in an interview with ABC News, said his position as a classification member in the financial subcommittee of the Chamber in the capital markets, and that other members experienced often also pass through leadership positions.

But Rakov is not attacking Sherman in politics. Instead, he said: “I think there is enough of that lack of generational change,” he added that it is not about age but about the people who want their members of Congress to “be accessible and responsible and that they really know the voters where they are emotionally.”

Sherman, speaking with ABC News, fired Rakov, who indicated that he had not worked with him directly, as one of an expected number of challengers.

“I always have many opponents and generally win for a great margin,” said Sherman.

In more general terms, Sherman sounded a skeptical note about efforts for primary headlines in general.

“I see these efforts to turn the Democratic party into a circular firing squad … It is very difficult to see how their efforts will help us win the 2026 elections. What it means is that we waste a lot of money in the primaries,” he said.

In the seventh district of the Indiana Congress, which includes much of Indianapolis, George Hornedo, a 34 -year -old student of the Obama administration and the 2020 presidential campaign of Pete Buttigieg, challenges Democratic representative André Carson. Hornedo alleges that Carson, 50, who was first chosen for the house in 2008, has not delivered for the district.

“I am running because my community here in Indianapolis is still waiting for everything, from safer streets to affordable homes to, in fact, only a real leadership,” Hornedo told ABC News. “After almost 20 years in Congress, it is clear that congressman Carson is only having the seat but he is not really doing anything with him.”

But Hornedo does not believe that the division is simply about age or time in office. The division, he said, is among members “as congressman Carson” who think that current institutions are working for people “, compared to those like me who recognize that, of course, we have to try to protect what we currently have, but we also have to recognize that President Trump and Elon Musk are actively dismantling the day after day.”

Carson told ABC News that he welcomes the new voices, but thinks that Democrats need to work together under a common goal, and that he withdrew against Hornedo’s statements.

Carson pointed out the bills in which he has worked that they have registered, as well as their work throughout the hall with the Republicans and federal funds that have given Indianapolis as a testimony of its effectiveness.

But Carson also believes that his own origin already makes him a non -traditional member of Congress: “I think I am one of the few members of the Congress who has once lived in a shelter for homeless people … along with my grandmother, I was raised by the community. I was raised by the village, so I am always sensitive to the needs of Downtrodden and the least fortunate.”

In the nearby Illinois, Kat Abughazaleh, 26, a former reporter and researcher with a great monitoring of social networks, announced in March that he would apply for Congress in the ninth district of the Illinois Congress, currently represented by the representative Jan Schakowsky, 80, who has not yet announced if he will apply for re -election.

Abughazaleh has had an early success in the Fund Collection Front, raising more than $ 375,000 in the first week of his campaign, According to Federal Presentations of the Electoral Commission. She exceeded what Schakowsky collected throughout the first quarter.

Abughazaleh quickly emphasizes that her career is not a “revenge” against the headline, but she says that the Democratic Party is discouraging primaries and criticisms in general.

“It’s time for new ideas. If what we were doing was working, then we would not be in this disaster in the first place,” Abughazaleh told ABC News.

Abughazaleh pointed out his own life experiences that fit with what younger generations are experiencing, such as someone from a generation that deals with school shooting exercises, pocket medical costs and the expense of spending most of their income in rent, such as differentiating from the members of a lifetime.

In a statement to ABC News, Schakowsky said he will decide on his own plans “soon, but if I really decide to withdraw, there are dozens of talented leaders, defenders and organizers in the 9th district of the Congress who know our community and that they are ready to lead the position while we fight against the Extreme Magas regime and the shameful political verses of Trump.”

He also said that “always encouraged more participation in the democratic process.”

On Wednesday, she Posted in x That he had not yet made a decision about running.

In Georgia, Everton Blair, 32, grew in the 13th District of the Peach State Congress, which covers the Eastern Area of ​​the Atlanta Metro. He made history as the youngest, first black and openly homosexual person chosen for the Gwinnett County Education Board, where he went on to serve as president.

Blair is now fixing his sight in his next role in public office.

“I am running because the 13th district, my local territory, deserves better leadership. And I think we learned a very important lesson in November and we need to respond immediately to the chaos of this administration with a stronger, more competent and forceful leadership,” Blair told ABC News in an interview.

The titular representative David Scott has celebrated the seat for 22 years, after a career in the General Assembly of Georgia. Blair argues that the 13th District of the Georgia Congress needs a leader who is “agile and present”, qualities that he no longer sees in Scott.

“When someone has served in the elected office for more than 50 years, there comes a time when you have to ask when you are ready to prepare the next generation of leadership.”

The Scott spokesmen did not respond to a request for comments.

Throughout the west coast, Saikat Chakrabarti, 39, is increasing a main campaign against one of the most outstanding figures of the Democratic Party: the Emerita Nancy Pelosi speaker, who has represented San Francisco for about 38 years.

A former technological businessman from Silicon Valley and founding engineer of the Stripe online payment platform, Chakrabarti began in politics working in the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders 2016.

When asked why he thinks he can highlight a heavy weight of the party, Chakrabarti told ABC News that he has done it before. He served as a campaign manager of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez during his annoying victory in 2018 over Democratic headline Joe Crowley.

Chakrabarti VE echoes of 2018 in 2025: an electoral environment after the triumph marked by frustration among the Democrats for the defeat of their party.

“That moment of change, in my opinion, is eclipsed by the time of the change you see at this time. The level of anger towards the Democratic Party to fail is enormous,” said Chakrabarti.

Chakrabarti added that those who wish to face Trump should also have the courage to face the members of their own party, including Pelosi, 85.

“All we know is that if we enter 2028 with the party as is what it is now, we are in trouble,” said Chakrabarti.

The Pelosi office rejected a request for comments.

Booker, the strategist, told ABC News that younger candidates will generally have the challenge of developing the recognition of names among voters, which can already have strong connections with the headlines.

“As humans, we are very connected to who our person is. Many of these members who have been in these seats also have deep relationships, and also have a lot of money, and those deep relationships also extend to donors,” he said.

“Then, while it is about supporting young people to run, they have to be reflective … so that they can have a well -greased campaign, because otherwise they will be, yes, a challenger, but they will not be able to succeed in these careers for a position.”