‘At some point, you age out’: Obama urges Democrats to pass torch to younger candidates
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...
By Fox News · Fox News
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…