Brad Sherman

Progressive groups, emboldened by the Democratic grassroots' extreme dissatisfaction at their party's older establishment, are preparing to go big in their efforts to unseat Democratic lawmakers.Why it matters: Three months into the new Congress, more than half a dozen House Democrats already are facing primary challengers. That number is about to skyrocket.DNC vice chair David Hogg, whose group Leaders We Deserve is spending $20 million to primary incumbents to the chagrin of many House Democrats, told Axios: "Some truly generational leaders will be announcing their campaigns very soon."Usamah Andrabi, a spokesperson for Justice Democrats, told Axios the number of House Democrats who ultimately draw serious challengers "could be dozens — it could be a large portion of the caucus.""I have talked to folks who have been thinking about jumping into these primary races who haven't come out yet," said Amanda Litman, founder of Run For Something. "There are more coming."By the numbers: At least seven House Democrats — nearly all north of 70 years old — are staring down primary challenges from younger insurgents.In some cases, the age gap is yawning: 85-year-old former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is facing 39-year-old political operative and software engineer Saikat Chakrabarti.Of this group, three incumbents, including Pelosi, have not said whether they will seek reelection in 2026. Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), André Carson (D-Ind.) and Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) are running, spokespeople told Axios. So is Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.What they're saying: Litman said when her group was founded in 2017 — despite it only working on state and local races and not on the congressional level— she "would get a lot of people really mad at me.""Now, we get almost the opposite reaction," she said. "I think the dam has broken because of [former President] Biden ... so clearly demonstrating the danger that comes with leaders staying in too long."Andrabi told Axios: "The mood amongst the Democratic base is so overwhelming that people don't need an excuse to get in and challenge the sort of 'Do Nothing Democrats' right now."Said Adam Green of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee: "Anybody who ... sees the only opposition party at a record low approval would want to change the face of the party."Data: Axios research; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios VisualsZoom in: Investment analyst Katie Bansil, 33, said she challenged Pallone, 73, primarily over "big differences" in their views on environmental and foreign policy. Now, age is emerging as another "big reason.""I echo ... a lot of the sentiment lately. The landscape when he first ran in [1988], versus now, is so different," she said. "It's time to turn the page."Everton Blair, a 34-year-old school board member pursuing the seat held by Scott, 79, said he decided to run after a town hall meeting at which Scott brushed off his concerns about combating the Trump administration."Republicans have actually done a better job than Democrats at creating youth opportunities on their bench ... we need to shift gears," he said.Zoom out: These primary battles are just the latest front in a generational civil war that has been tearing the Democratic Party apart for the better part of a year.Biden's withdrawal from the Democratic ticket last July was a watershed moment.That was followed by House Democrats breaking with tradition and pushing out three of their oldest committee leaders, including Scott.Trump's efforts to dismantle the federal government have kicked things into overdrive, with activists all but writing off any Democrat who they think isn't meeting the urgency of the moment.Yes, but: Those in this new crop of insurgents — many of whom are political neophytes and, in some cases, outsiders to their districts — will have to prove they can replicate the success of The Squad.That includes raising the kind of money they will need to overcome the outside help many establishment Democrats are likely to receive.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), in a Sunday appearance on ABC's "This Week," said he looks forward to "standing behind every single Democratic incumbent."Some challengers appear to be raising the necessary cash: Kat Abughazaleh raked in nearly $379,000 in just eight days after the 26-year-old launched her campaign against Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), who is now expected to retire.The bottom line: "Even in April, a year out from a Democratic primary ... we're at seven [primary challenges], and none of those are ours," said Andrabi. "There's going to be a lot of people across the country that we may not get involved in that are just like, 'I don't give a s**t, I don't need organizational support, I'm here to primary this person because this person sucks.'"

Welcome to At the Races! Each week we bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call campaign team. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. A handful of young Democrats have announced primary challenges to longtime Democratic incumbents, a trend that gained support this week from a top Democratic [...]The post At the Races: Only the young appeared first on Roll Call.

SEBASTIAN, Fla. — Was Florida whispering? Was Wisconsin shouting?

Rakov is the latest example of a younger Democrat seeking to replace a long-serving member in their party.

'This bipartisan legislation ensures that we stand against Beijing’s weaponization of international organizations,' Rep. Gerald Connolly says.

Welcome to At the Races! Each week we bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call campaign team. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday brought bleak news for congressional Democrats: Just 21 percent of voters approve of the way they are doing [...]The post At the Races: Dems the breaks appeared first on Roll Call.

The Culpeper County Board of Supervisors recently denied an unusual request from developers of the River Knolls housing development, slated for location across from Stonehaven in Jeffersonton.

Trump is testing one of the most foundational cases in American constitutional law.

GOP leaders claim overregulation contribute to devastating fires. Democrats point to climate change as a factor.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Luz Rivas had barely begun her day in Washington when her cellphone rang at 7 a.m. The Hurst fire had erupted around 10:30 the night before and — fueled by high winds and dangerously dry conditions — ballooned to more than 500 acres in her northern Los Angeles County district by morning.

Trump takes office in less than a week, but California's road to recovery will take months, and politics might get in the way.

House Democrats are warning Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that tying federal wildfire relief for California to the debt limit could set a new precedent that would come back to bite Republicans.Why it matters: Disaster prone red states like Florida and Louisiana — Johnson's home state — could face a similar squeeze from Democrats if they retake the House, lawmakers told Axios."This place is like high school, it's tit for tat when one side breaks a norm. The other side is happy to return the favor," said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), pointing to the removal of members from committees as an example.If Johnson conditions the aid, Moskowitz said, "California's our largest delegation. You think they're going to forget about that?"Driving the news: Johnson told reporters Monday that, "I think that there should probably be conditions on that aid. That's my personal view.""We'll see what the consensus is. I haven't had a chance to socialize that with any of the members over the weekend, because we've all been very busy. But it will be part of the discussion for sure," he said.It's not clear yet whether the idea has full support among Republicans, with centrist Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) telling Axios "that process will play itself out.""We want to provide relief to Americans who were impacted by natural disasters of any kind," he said, but California's "disastrous policy decisions ... will be part of a discussion."What they're saying: "I just think it's a really bad precedent, and, yeah, I do think it could have slingshot effects," Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) told Axios in a brief interview at the Capitol."Whether it's wildfires in CA, or hurricanes and tornadoes in Louisiana, we should should never condition aid to disaster victims," Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) told Axios, also warning that the move would set a "really dangerous precedent."House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said conditioning aid would be "crazy and ridiculous" and would "completely upend Congress."Between the lines: Lawmakers in both parties told Axios that Johnson's gambit is a clear acknowledgement that both disaster aid and the debt ceiling will require Democratic votes to pass.Republicans have floated including a debt ceiling increase in the massive party-line fiscal bill they're planning, but that risks touching off a right-wing revolt."It's not the issue of conditioning, it's the issue of how do we get it done," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), a top House Appropriations Committee member who acknowledged both measures will "probably" need bipartisan support.Zoom in: Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), whose district has been directly hit by the wildfires, said it would "obviously be outrageous and unthinkable for Republicans to react differently to a disaster based upon how people voted."Sherman said he is "not for" conditioning future aid to red states on a partisan objective — offering an immigration reform package as an example.But "if Democrats tied Louisiana relief to making sure Social Security stayed solvent, that's a bipartisan objective," he said.The idea of conditioning aid may also lack universal GOP support, with Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.) telling Axios in a statement: "If aid is needed, we need to deliver."The bottom line: "People have lost their lives, homes, and livelihoods," said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), whose district has also been impacted by the wildfires."I have zero tolerance for partisan bullsh*t right now."

There are two battleground races touching L.A. County that could determine which party controls the House.

Representatives are elected to two-year terms without term limits, so they're on your ballot a lot. Here's a look the candidates in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

In this episode of NTD’s “Profiles of Service,” we sit down with Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), who began representing California’s District 32 in 1997, after a career as an attorney and internal revenue officer. Sherman shares his philosophy of service, the challenges of office, his humor, and why he thinks it’s all still worth it. [...]

President Biden’s decision to bow out of the presidential race has denied him the chance at a second term, but it's also fueling new hopes among Democrats that he'll be bolder in the remaining months of his first. The lawmakers say Biden's newfound status as a lame-duck president — a position few would have predicted [...]

Since his disastrous debate last month, President Biden has embraced a laundry list of left-wing policy proposals, strong-armed the party's nomination process and still tried to limit spontaneous, unscripted moments.It's saved his candidacy — for now. Why it matters: Biden's moves have kept top Democrats from stampeding away from him — even as many remain privately uneasy with the 81-year-old president staying at the top of the ticket and serving another term.Amid worries he could lose and drag down Democratic House and Senate candidates with him, just 20 Democrats in Congress have called on him to step aside.Driving the news: That's partly because of promises that Biden — long a centrist Democrat — has made to his party's progressive wing.Biden said this past week that if he's re-elected, he'd call for legislation to cap landlords' ability to hike rent prices, push for a large-scale elimination of medical debt, and pursue other plans that have been applauded by progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Biden's chosen leadership at the Democratic National Committee also is pushing to use an electronic roll call to lock him in as the party's presidential nominee weeks before its convention begins Aug. 19 in Chicago. The sooner Biden is technically the nominee, the sooner he and the party can quash Democratic rebels' push to replace him on the ticket.Biden's team also has continued to tightly control his public appearances, even as many allies have urged him to be more spontaneous and ditch Teleprompters.Biden's few unscripted moments in front of cameras since the June 27 debate haven't inspired wide confidence, but have been good enough to prevent many more defections.Zoom in: Biden has done some interviews with subtle crutches.In a phone chat with MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Biden could be heard shuffling papers and acknowledged at one point that he was reading from "a list of lies."In his first interviews after the debate — radio calls with Black radio stations in Philadelphia and Milwaukee — his team later acknowledged it had drafted and pre-submitted the questions to the hosts.Biden's team also managed his calls with Democratic lawmakers.Mayors and members of Congress could not unmute themselves in recent Zoom calls, as the White House controlled who was able to speak. The White House said that was standard procedure for such group calls.When the Congressional Hispanic Caucus jumped on a call with Biden, members were informed that "this is a Zoom managed by the Biden campaign."Biden's team said it was indeed controlling the call, but did not ask for nor receive questions in advance.What they're saying: White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Axios that "in the last two weeks, President Biden has done a one-hour, in-depth press conference and unscripted interviews with ABC News, 'Morning Joe,' BET, NBC News, Speedy Morman, and the Houston Chronicle."Bates added: "He has spoken off the cuff to world leaders — who highlighted the leadership he showed at NATO — as well as to members of Congress, the AFL-CIO, and to American veterans."Progressives also have cheered Biden's recent moves.After the Congressional Progressive Caucus had a call with Biden, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) told Axios the president teased many policies the caucus wants — which he said is "not a complete coincidence," based on where Biden is now drawing support on Capitol Hill."This is his base," Sherman said of the Progressive Caucus, "You see who has called upon him to move on, and who has called upon him to stay, and the Progressive Caucus lines up with those who have asked him to stay."Sanders penned an effusive op-ed in the New York Times for Biden's re-election over the weekend, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also has been publicly supportive.Sanders wrote: "Enough! Mr. Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but he will be the candidate and should be the candidate."The influential Congressional Black Caucus also has largely been effusive in its support.That's given Biden a lifeline with lawmakers representing two of the most important parts of the Democratic Party's base.Bottom line: Some moderates are frustrated that they'll pay the price if Biden remains at the top of the ticket, unlike many progressives and members of the CBC who are largely in safely Democratic districts.But the Biden team's moves have been sufficient to keep many Democrats from speaking out publicly.