Young Dems Target Waters, Then Regret It
Young Democrats face backlash after deleting post criticizing Maxine Waters’ age.
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Young Democrats faced backlash after deleting a post criticizing Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters’ age, sparking internal conflict within the group. The center-left organization, representing young Democrats, removed the post after receiving concerns from one of its members.
Internal Conflict Over Age Criticism
The post, which criticized Waters’ age, was deleted following pushback from Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres. The post, which read, “We respect everything Maxine Waters has done for her district and for America in her 88 years, but we also think that Democrats shouldn’t be enabling the gerontocracy that voters have repeatedly rejected,” was obtained by Politico.
Auchincloss, who chairs Majority Democrats, did not see the post before it was published and is not in the chain of command for Majority Democrats’ social media. However, he agreed with the decision to remove the post.
Waters Faces Potential Challenges
A majority of Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee wrote a letter backing Waters as the party’s leader on the committee. She faces potential challenges from Democratic Illinois Reps. Sean Casten and Bill Foster.
Waters, 88, first got married in 1956 and was first elected to Congress in November 1990. Majority Democrats released a video in July calling for committee term limits, featuring a photo of Waters and more than a dozen other older Democrats, but did not mention her by name.
BREAKING NEWS: The vast majority of HOUSE DEMS on the Financial Services Committee have sent a letter endorsing MAXINE WATERS to return as the party’s top Democrat. Non-signers: Casten and Foster (running against Waters) and Sam Liccardo. (@PunchbowlNews text subscribers had the scoop first)
Younger Democrats Defeat Older Incumbents
Younger Democrats have defeated older incumbents in Congress across the U.S. Democratic Reps. Diana DeGette of Colorado, Shri Thanedar of Michigan, John Larson of Connecticut, and Adriano Espaillat of New York lost their races to candidates decades younger than them in the 2026 primary cycle.
Larson, a 78-year-old who has served in Congress since 1999, lost his primary by more than 20 percentage points to 47-year-old former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. DeGette, Thanedar, and Espaillat lost their races to candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which is on pace to field its largest congressional delegation in history.
DeGette, 69, lost to 29-year-old DSA candidate Melat Kiros in Colorado’s first congressional district.
Republican Incumbents Face Challenges
Republican incumbents have held onto more of their House seats, though pro-establishment and older voters helped oust incumbents that did not align with President Donald Trump, who turned 80 in June. Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie lost his race to 68-year-old congressional candidate Ed Gallrein after the pro-Israel lobby spent over $9 million in mostly independent expenditures to oust him.
The Baby Boomer generation overwhelmingly voted for Gallrein, while younger voters supported Massie. Republican Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers, a 79-year-old incumbent, won his primary in May against four challengers.
Eighty-year-old Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey defeated 47-year-old Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton in the Sept. 1 primary.
Source: Daily Caller
