CA-43: Maxine Waters is the newest target in Democrats' intergenerational war

[RandySF]

LOS ANGELES — Rep. Maxine Waters, an institution of Los Angeles Democratic politics, is facing an upstart challenger from her party seeking to capitalize on the national wave of generational change-seekers.

Myla Rahman, a nonprofit executive, hopes to turn Waters’ 35 years in Congress — and 50 years overall as an elected official — against her, arguing the 87-year-old incumbent has lost touch with her district.

“The community has said that they’d like new energy, a new perspective,” said Rahman in an interview. “And the reality is, the average age is 36 years old in the district. The average person is a renter in the district. So we’ve got a lot of issues that are relatable to my life experience.”

Waters is the rare member of Congress to be both a local icon and a national meme. She gained near-celebrity status in President Donald Trump’s first term as “Auntie Maxine” who regularly lobbed acerbic barbs at the president and his administration. She has maintained an electoral lock on her South Los Angeles district, normally winning with more than 70 or 80 percent of the vote.


https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/10/maxine-waters-newest-target-democrats-intergenerational-00772858

[Torchlight]

1. May the best candidate get elected

I don't do the age-baiting thing... from my chair, reducing candidates to their age, whether dismissing someone as “too old” or promoting someone simply as “young blood,” is a shallow substitute for evaluating competence, policy, and character. I judge on ideas, performance, and integrity, not demographic shortcuts.

[RandySF]

2. Maxine is still pretty sharp.

[Torchlight]

4. Yes she is. No argument from me.

[ITAL]

3. It's not like no one has challenged her before

She's my rep (for the last few years anyway since I moved to the district from a neighboring one) - and I seem to remember people running against her nearly every time. Waters is often at various events to press the flesh, so she gets out there and is popular with voters, even if many think she's old.

[Johonny]

6. I met her before and Im not even in her district

She gets out the vote, so anyone challenging her better understand that.

[awesomerwb1]

5. Democrats "intergenerational WAR"

What a title from Politico.

F politico

As a post above me said. May the best candidate win.