Voters agree: Fresh voices needed in politics
NEW YORK >> As he campaigns for a Manhattan congressional seat against fellow Democrats twice his age, 38-year-old Suraj Patel harnesses the frustration of his generation toward those who have held office for decades.
In his telling, Reps. Jerry Nadler, 75, and Carolyn Maloney, 76, are part of a crop of Democrats who rose to power in the 1990s only to fail on issues ranging from guns to climate change and abortion. The redistricting process that merged their congressional districts offers a chance for new leadership, Patel says.
“If we keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different result: That's not just the definition of insanity,” he said. “That's also the definition of incumbency.”
More than 1,100 miles to the west in the presidential testing ground of Iowa, Republican Jeremiah Bronson was also considering whether someone other than 76-year-old Donald Trump might carry his party into the future. Bronson expressed growing interest in 55-year-old Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
“He seems to be on the same page with conservatives around the country,” Bronson, 39, said as he dined on barbecued pork sandwiches with a halfdozen other Story County Republicans.
In a nation faltering along seemingly every conceivable divide, there's a shared desire among Democrats and Republicans for a new generation of political leadership. The conversation is most pronounced when it comes to the White House as Trump considers another campaign and President Joe Biden confronts skepticism about his ability to mount a reelection bid in 2024 when he is 82.
“There's just a sense of like, that rematch between these two old guys seems ridiculous to people,” said Sarah Longwell, a Republican strategist who conducts almost weekly focus groups with voters across the country and political spectrum.
There are recurring calls for youth and change in U.S. politics.
Bill Clinton's appeal for a new generation of leadership helped him rise from governor of Arkansas to the first baby boomer president in 1992. In 2008, Barack Obama's relative youth was an asset in his primary campaign against Hillary Clinton and during the general election against Arizona Sen. John McCain.
More recently, Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential bid gained traction with its focus on fresh leadership before being overtaken by Biden, viewed by many Democrats as the safer choice against Trump.
The dynamics have shifted since then, with some Democratic voters furious that Biden and leaders in Congress haven't done more to protect abortion rights, respond more aggressively to a wave of mass shootings and address climate change.
A new Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows 83% of U.S. adults say the country is on the wrong track. Only 36% approve of Biden's leadership overall, while 62% disapprove. Polling from AP-NORC in recent months captured deepening pessimism among members of his own Democratic Party about Biden, the direction of the country and t he state of the economy. A January APNORC poll found just 28% of those surveyed and 48% of Democrats said they want Biden to run for reelection in 2024.
Julián Castro, a former Obama housing secretary and onetime presidential candidate, said there's “no doubt” that members of his party are frustrated and that Democrats in Washington need to show a sense of urgency and produce results. In a telephone interview from the Texas Democratic Convention in Dallas, he said Democrats seemed energized.