Two longtime House Democrats face primary challenges from younger opponents

Two Democrats who've spent decades in Congress this week became the latest in their party to face primary challenges from much younger opponents Longtime Democratic Maryland Rep Steny Hoyer has yet to announce whether he will seek re-election next year for a th two-year term in Congress If he does he will face a primary challenger who is making Hoyer's age the congressman turns next month and would be at the end of his next term a centerpiece of his campaign Meanwhile -year-old Sen Ed Markey of Massachusetts first elected to Congress nearly half a century ago broadcasted last October that he would seek another six-year term in the Senate He is now facing a primary challenger who has criticized what he calls the senator s absence in pushing back against President Donald Trump DEMOCRATS' VICE CHAIR IGNITES CIVIL WAR TARGETING ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL INCUMBENTS IN PRIMARIESHarry Jarin a volunteer firefighter and urgency services consultant disclosed Thursday in a new video announcing his candidacy If you live here in southern Maryland I want to ask you a tough question Do you really think that Steny Hoyer at -years-old is the best person to represent us Here's the bottom line You don't put out a fire by sending in the same people who let it spread Send in a firefighter Jarin commented Maryland deserves a new generation of leadership and I'm ready to take up the fight And in an interview with Fox News Digital Jarin stated I think we re facing a really serious constitutional dilemma Congress has really declined as an institution over the last three or four years Congress has surrendered a lot of its legislative power under the Constitution over to the executive branch I think that s been very corrosive to our political system Demanded about his motivation to primary challenge Hoyer Jarin explained It s not just about getting someone younger and fresher in It s getting someone in who understands the need to revitalize Congress as an institution Fox News reached out to Hoyer's office for a response but a spokesperson declined to respond Hoyer who first won his seat in Congress in a special electoral process from to was the second-ranking House Democrat behind Rep Nancy Pelosi D-Calif He served as House Majority Leader from - and from - when the Democrats controlled the chamber Along with Pelosi Hoyer stepped down from his longtime leadership position at the end of but remained in Congress DEMOCRATS PREDICT HOUSE REPUBLICANS WILL PAY PRICE FOR PASSING TRUMP'S BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL I think all of us have been around for a few time and pretty much have a feel for the timing of decisions And I think all three of us felt that this was the time Hoyer reported CNN at the time as he referred to the moves by the top three House Democrats Pelosi Hoyer and Rep Jim Clyburn D-S C to step down from their leadership roles Hoyer has long been a major backer of the Democrats' top issues and during his second tenure as House majority leader he played a crucial role in the passage of then-President Joe Biden's so-called American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law He represents Maryland's Democrat-dominated th Congressional District which covers a region known as Southern Maryland and includes the suburbs south and east of Washington D C a sliver of suburban Baltimore and Annapolis as well as rural areas farther south Hoyer who suffered a minor stroke last year is the latest high-ranking House Democrat to face a primary challenge from a younger opponent Pelosi and Reps Brad Sherman of California and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois have drawn primary challenges with Schakowsky later announcing that she will no longer run for re-election Jarin described Fox News that when he spoke with voters in the district about Hoyer they had concerns about the incumbent's age The main reaction I got when I questioned people about Steny Hoyer was first and foremost his age Jarin revealed The idea that he would be close to years old at the end of the next term is just a little bit nuts for people I think people are starting to process how extreme a situation that is The primary challenges come as Democrats are still trying to regroup following last November's vote setbacks when the party lost control of the White House and their Senate majority and came up short in their bid to win back the House The party's base is angry and energized to push back against the sweeping and controversial moves by Trump in the four months since he returned to the White House Additionally while much of that anger and ability is directed at fighting the White House and congressional Republicans chosen of it is targeted at Democrats whom a great number of in the party's base feel aren't vocal enough in their efforts to stymie Trump Concurrently other longtime and older House Democrats in safe blue districts are facing the possibility of primary challenges This after newly elected Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg last month pledged to spend millions of dollars through his outside political group to back primary challenges against what he called asleep at the wheel House Democrats lawmakers he argued have failed to effectively push back against Trump The move by the -year-old Hogg a survivor of the horrific shooting seven years ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida to spend money against fellow Democrats ignited a firestorm within the party Jarin stated that we have reached out to David Hogg We ve been in communication But Hogg narrated The Washington Post last month that he wouldn't assistance primary challenges against Hoyer Pelosi or Clyburn As for his ability to raise money for his campaign Jarin noted I do come from a political family He noted that his husband was a major donor and bundler for former President Joe Biden's prosperous campaign and also served as a DNC finance director and that his uncle had been a big bundler for Democratic causes for a long time I think a lot of donors realize that this is a dilemma but may not be able to say it out loud for fear of repercussions he argued Jarin announced that he's received selected pushback from donors for concerns of prioritizing more marginal districts instead of pouring tools into swing seats as the party aims to win back the House majority in My message to them has been that putting extremely elderly politicians like Steny Hoyer back into office for a th term sends a message to voters across the country that Democrats are just the party of status quo and clearly that message has not been working he declared In Massachusetts first-time candidate Alex Rikleen a father former instructor and fantasy sports writer this week launched a primary challenge against Markey While Rikleen didn't spotlight the senator's age he did argue that Markey like multiple other Democrats has stood silently by as Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer surrenders Democrats' leverage in battling Trump Rikleen declared that he is stepping forward to challenge an incumbent because Democrats have shown us that they are not going to change lesson on their own in this perilous moment I believe we need dramatic action now and we are not getting it from our current Democratic leaders And while he stated that Sen Markey has been a fantastic leader on progressive guidelines throughout my lifetime and he is better than the bulk at standing up for others In a normal political milieu I'd proudly continue voting for him he argued that this is not a normal moment Better than the greater part is not good enough But Markey has been very visible this year as he attended protests and rallies across Massachusetts And last month he traveled to Louisiana to urge the Trump administration to release Rumeysa Ozturk a apprentice at Massachusetts' Tufts University who was handcuffed while walking on a street by masked Department of Homeland Guard agents and detained at an ICE facility And Markey took to social media on Thursday to once again defend Harvard University in its battle with the Trump administration pledging that Massachusetts will not be bullied