Washington — In Napa and surrounding counties, Rep. Mike Thompson’s once easy re-election contest is turning into a race. In the Sacramento area, Representative Doris Matsui is facing one of her most serious challengers in two decades. In Los Angeles, a former White House climate official wants to oust Rep. Brad Sherman from office.
In these districts and others, newcomers are challenging some of the most recognizable Democratic names in California politics in the June 2 primary election.
The challenges are part of a national wave reshaping the debate over generational power and the direction of the Democratic Party ahead of the 2026 midterms, when party leaders hope to regain control of the House. They reflect and capitalize on the restlessness among progressive voters frustrated with the status quo, concerned about affordability and looking for new leadership.
The question of when senior lawmakers should step down has been troubling both parties for years, ranging from health concerns at the end of the careers of senators including Republican Mitch McConnell and Democrat Dianne Feinstein to the generational debate sparked by progressive figures like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The debate reached a critical moment for Democrats in 2024, when President Biden withdrew from his reelection campaign under the pressure of his age and mental acuity. In California, Representative Nancy Pelosi, 86, has opted to retire at the end of her current term.
Representative Mike Thompson, Democrat of California, during a news conference about the Signal messaging incident involving Trump administration officials at the U.S. Capitol in March 2025.
(Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Now, a handful of California primary contests have revived a predictable debate: Some in the party see the argument that lawmakers in their 70s and 80s should step aside as being aging and inexperienced; Others argue that Democrats need to allow for generational change, especially after the party’s 2024 failure to defeat President Trump.
“The Democratic Party is not working and the power structure there is crumbling,” said Eric Jones, a 35-year-old entrepreneur. Eric Jones, who is challenging Thompson in the redrawn 4th District. “Where is the hope? Where are the dreams? Where is the future? I don’t think any of that will come out of this current political class.”
Incumbents argue that business experience is a false promise for newcomers. In statements to The Times, several people pointed to his legislative accomplishments. “Now is not the time for on-the-job training,” said Thompson spokesman Thomas Dowling.
The redistricting created by Proposition 50 has helped open the door to newcomer candidates in the 4th and 7th districts, where Thompson and Matsui face challengers, making those races more competitive. Both districts were redrawn so that incumbents could earn the trust of new voters who had never seen them on their ballots before.
“They’re still Democratic, but some voters are different,” said Christian Grosz, a professor of political science and public policy at USC. “I think it has created an opportunity for some of those young people in the North, where the districts have changed.”
The two races are distinct — for example, Thompson has received endorsements from youth-voter groups like the Sacramento County Young Democrats, and at 75, he is younger than the 81-year-old Matsui.
Matsui, meanwhile, has had a helping hand in raising money, with nearly $1 million in cash including $315,000 brought in by challenger Mai Wang, a Sacramento City Council member backed by progressive groups who has presented her campaign as one driven by working families and has criticized Matsui for relying on corporate donors. Jones’ challenge has forced Thompson to match his fundraising and door-knocking efforts — their campaigns said both candidates have raised nearly $3 million.
“Other people think being a leader is all about shouting and screaming,” Matsui told The Times. “I think it’s about being effective.”
Representative Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), pictured in April, is facing one of her most serious challengers in two decades.
(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images)
A broad pattern emerges
California is home to three of these 13 members of Congress age 80 or older seeking re-election in 2026 -Matsui; Rep. Maxine Waters, 87; and Representative John Garamendi, 81. All three are facing their first serious primary challenges in years.
“It will take a new kind of energy, new ideas and leadership to fight what is happening in our country right now,” said Myla Rahman, 53, a Los Angeles Democrat in the 43rd District, challenging Waters, who has held the seat for 35 years.
The primary election will also include a handful of open contests in solidly blue districts where longtime incumbents are stepping aside — including Pelosi’s San Francisco seat and retiring Rep. Julia Brownlee’s Ventura County district — that will provide newcomers with their first real start in years.
In Alameda County, a primary election is scheduled for June 16 for the seat vacated by former Representative Eric Swalwell, who resigned last month Amid allegations of sexual harassment.
National Democrats, meanwhile, are focused on defending incumbents in two California swing districts that the party views as crucial to regaining the House majority: Rep. derek tran of Orange County, who won his seat in 2024 by just over 600 votes, and Rep. adam gray of the Central Valley, which faces a competitive field.
In competitive partisan races and Democrat-on-Democrat contests, analysts say voter pessimism about the economy is growing.
A statewide survey was released in February A study by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 56% of likely voters believed a candidate’s position on affordability was very important in determining their vote in House races — yet only 20% said they approved of the job Congress was doing.
Among voters under 35, the numbers were much higher: 76% cited cost of living as a top concern, and only 13% approved of Congress.
These numbers help explain why young voters are looking for new alternatives to primary challengers, said Mark Baldassare, president and chief executive of the Public Policy Institute of California. Much of the disillusionment stems from economic pressures, he said.
“If you’re getting a 13% approval rating among 18 to 34-year-olds in Congress, that tells you a lot about how people are feeling about the status quo,” Baldassare said.
Gross said the trend reflects a mix of young candidates who are tired of waiting their turn, others who are motivated by ideology, and others who see a rare opportunity against a vulnerable incumbent.
He said, “If you are a sensible young candidate, it may be easier to defeat an incumbent candidate who is over 80 than it is to defeat 20 people in the primary who retire later.”
challenge to challengers
Still, the newcomers face an uphill climb against opponents whose names are well known in communities where they have been deeply entrenched for years.
Rahman, a nonprofit director, acknowledged that it is challenging to run against someone like Waters who is nationally known and commands voter loyalty. But he said the cost of groceries, gas and housing are making people question whether their representatives in Congress are doing enough.
In Solano County, Garamendi, who has served in Congress since 2009 and held senior positions in state government since the 1970s, faces three challengers — two Democrats and one Republican — in the redrawn 8th District.
“Experience matters both when you’re fighting Trump and when you’re working to better our community,” he said in his bid for re-election.
In Los Angeles’ 32nd District, Sherman, 71, is trying to stop Jake Levin, 41, a former climate aide in the Obama and Biden White Houses who decided to flee after losing his childhood home in the Palisades fire.
Levin said, “For 30 years, we have been told that seniority equals effectiveness, and time spent in office equals progress.” “But people across our district — who are struggling with $7 gas and housing prices that are driving people out of L.A. — may realize that’s not true.”
Sherman, who has been in Congress since 1997, flatly rejected the generation-change argument.
“If you’ve never shown that you can stand up to the other side in a tough legislative debate, you can go out there and say, ‘I’ve never done anything, I’ve never proven I can do anything, but I’m new,'” Sherman said.
