Much of the discussion around the 2024 election centred around Biden’s age – opponents arguing he was too old, and allies ardently defending him. But the problem goes far deeper than with the former president.
The current Congress is the third-oldest in U.S. history, with three of its members (notably, all Democrats) having passed away this year. The institution has, for a long time, honoured the seniority of its lawmakers, particularly within the Democratic ranks. In late 2024, Democrats voted to elect Representative Gerry Connolly over Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the top Oversight Committee post. Rep. Connolly, 74, had announced he was diagnosed with cancer a month prior and died in office in May of this year.
Similarly, Democrats have faced criticism in recent years, particularly following the 2024 election loss, over the party’s vision and way forward. It’s no secret that the Democratic Party’s approval ratings have taken a hit since November 2024, not to mention in the years prior.
Tired of the same old playbook, a new generation of Democrats are seeking to change that.
Saikat Chakrabarti
Chakrabarti, 39, announced his campaign for the House seat held by former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, in the 11th District of California, February of this year. Pelosi announced she would not seek re-election early November and would retire after nearly 40 years in Congress.
Chakrabarti has made calls for new Democratic leadership to be a stronger opposition to Trump and the Republican Party. Speaking to a defeated Democratic base, he has publicly called for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to be primaried in their next elections. In data collected by the Pew Research Centre, 30% of Americans have an unfavourable view of Jeffries, while Schumer sits at a 50% unfavourable view.
His experience in the political realm includes working for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential campaign and managing AOC’s first congressional campaign in 2018 before becoming her Chief of Staff. Here, Chakrabarti had a hand in working on the Green New Deal, before going off to launch a project to elect new members to Congress called Justice Democrats.
While on the campaign trail, Chakrabarti has been a critic of the “politics as usual” approach that senior Democrats continue to employ, referring especially to the process of raising money.
“There’s a part of the Democratic Party that believes the only way you win elections is you gotta raise as much money as possible,” Chakrabarti said on the I’ve Had It podcast, referring to his time as AOC’s Chief of Staff.
He added: “They spend six to eight hours a day calling big donors for money, their main job is raising money, and so they can’t imagine another way to run an election. But there is, and we just saw Zohran do it in New York.”
His campaign has not taken any corporate PAC or lobbyist money, and if elected has claimed would seek to ban stock-trading in Congress. “Politicians should answer to voters, not big donors,” he said in a post on Instagram.
Kat Abughazaleh
Abughazaleh is a 26-year-old Palestinian-American social media journalist who was born in Dallas, Texas and attended George Washington University, Elliot School of International Affairs. She is running for Congress in the ninth district of Illinois for the seat held by (D) Jan Schakowsky since 1999. So far the crowded race has been tight in this reliably Democratic district, with recent polling showing Abughazaleh and another fellow candidate neck-in-neck at 18%.
Prior to running, Abughazaleh spent her journalistic career researching the far-right. She has been politically active throughout her career, and more so during her campaign for Congress. She is an attendee of protests against ICE, with videos of her being assaulted and thrown to the ground by ICE going viral online.
“I’ve fought fascists before as a citizen, union rep, and independent journalist. Now, I’m going to do the same in Congress.”
More recently, Abughazaleh was indicted by the Department of Justice over her participation in said anti-ICE protests. She is among several candidates and activists to be indicted.
Abughazaleh describes her congressional campaign as “people-powered” and “community-focused”, raising over $520,000 in Q2 from small donors and procuring 7,000 volunteers so far. Her campaign has put some donations toward mutual aid-stocking food banks and handing out necessary items to those in the community she hopes to represent.
She has attended rallies, donated to local food pantries and presented an unwavering opposition to the Trump administration. In her most recent public appearance, Abugazaleh spoke at the Remove the Regime rally in Washington, D.C last Saturday.
Abughazaleh has also been endorsed by Voters for Tomorrow and GenZ for Change, two groups that aim to empower young people in politics. If elected, Abughazaleh would be the second Gen Z person in the House of Representatives.
Dr. Abdul El Sayed
Dr. Abdul El Sayed is a progressive Muslim running a grassroots campaign for the Michigan Senate. This is a tight, three-way primary race until the 2026 midterms. He is challenged by State Senator Mallory McMorrow (D) and U.S. Representative Haley Stevens (D). A Republican, U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, is also in the running.
The 41-year-old’s experience includes repairing Detroit’s Health Department after it faced bankruptcy and restructuring Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services, which serves 1.8 million Michiganders.
A key part of his campaign – El Sayed supports a Medicare for All program, which is currently supported by 6 in 10 Americans, according to an Economist poll published in July of this year. Furthermore, El Sayed would push for abolishing medical debt and has claimed to have done so already for upwards of 300,000 Michiganders.
El Sayed has been vocal about foreign policy, particularly regarding military funding. He proposes a “sensible foreign policy” and opposes directly funding foreign militaries. He does, however, support standing with democratic allies, such as supporting Ukraine in the Russian invasion. El Sayed has also called for an arms embargo on Israel.
The 2024 presidential election saw the Democratic Party lose the Arab-American vote – a major part of its base. Disapproval of the Democrats’ handling of Israel led to low turnout for the party in Michigan, a state with a considerably dense Arab-American population, leading to Michigan turning red last election cycle.
Some of El Sayed’s most notable endorsements include Senator Bernie Sanders, Congressman Ro Khanna and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. With this being a competitive race, it will certainly be one to keep an eye on.
