85-year-old longtime House Democrat facing primary challenger who's making age a key issue

Longtime Democratic Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer has yet to denote whether helium volition question re-election adjacent twelvemonth for a 24th two-year word successful Congress.

If helium does, helium volition look a superior challenger who is making Hoyer's property – the congressman turns 86 adjacent period and would beryllium 89 astatine the extremity of his adjacent word – a centerpiece of his campaign.

Harry Jarin, 35, a unpaid firefighter and exigency services' consultant, said Thursday successful a caller video announcing his candidacy, "If you unrecorded present successful confederate Maryland, I privation to inquire you a pugnacious question. Do you truly deliberation that Steny Hoyer, astatine 89-years-old, is the champion idiosyncratic to correspond us?" 

Jarin argued that "we're successful a infinitesimal of existent crisis. Radical Republicans are burning down our state astir us. Our friends and household who enactment successful the authorities are losing their jobs. We support sending politicians similar Steny Hoyer backmost to Congress again and again. Tired politicians similar Steny can't enactment up a combat that we need."

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Democrat Harry Jarin, seen successful run motorboat video, is superior challenging longtime Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland successful the 2026 elections. (Harry Jarin for Congress)

"Here's the bottommost line: you don't enactment retired a occurrence by sending successful the aforesaid radical who fto it spread. Send successful a firefighter," Jarin said. "Maryland deserves a caller procreation of leadership, and I'm acceptable to instrumentality up the fight."

Fox News reached retired to Hoyer's bureau for a response, but a spokesperson declined to respond.

Hoyer, who archetypal won his spot successful Congress successful a 1981 peculiar election, from 2003 to 2023, was the 2nd ranking House Democrat down Rep. Nancy Pelosi. He served arsenic House Majority Leader from 2007-2011 and from 2019-2023, erstwhile the Democrats controlled the chamber.

Along with Pelosi, Hoyer stepped down from his longtime enactment presumption astatine the extremity of 2022 but remained successful Congress.  

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"I deliberation each of america person been astir for immoderate clip and beauteous overmuch person a consciousness for the timing of decisions. And I deliberation each 3 of america felt that this was the time," Hoyer told CNN astatine the time, arsenic helium referred to the moves by the apical 3 House Democrats - Pelosi, Hoyer and Rep. Jim Clyburn - to measurement down from their enactment roles.

Hoyer has agelong been a large backer of the Democrats' apical issues, and during his 2nd tenure arsenic House Majority Leader, helium played a important relation successful the transition of then-President Joe Biden's alleged American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Longtime Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, a erstwhile House Majority Leader, volition look a superior situation if helium decides to question re-election successful 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

He represents Maryland's Democrat-dominated 5th Congressional District, which covers a portion known as Southern Maryland, and includes the suburbs southbound and eastbound of Washington D.C., a sliver of suburban Baltimore and Annapolis, arsenic good arsenic agrarian areas farther south. 

Hoyer, who suffered a insignificant changeable past year, is the latest high-ranking House Democrat to look a superior situation from a younger opponent.

Pelosi and Reps. Brad Sherman of California and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois person drawn superior challenges, with Schakowsky aboriginal announcing that she volition nary longer tally for re-election.

The superior challenges travel arsenic Democrats are inactive trying to regroup pursuing past November's predetermination setbacks, erstwhile the enactment mislaid power of the White House and their Senate majority, and came up abbreviated successful their bid to triumph backmost the House.

The party's basal is aggravated and energized to propulsion backmost against the sweeping and arguable moves by President Donald Trump successful the 4 months since helium returned to the White House.

Additionally, portion overmuch of that choler and vigor is directed astatine warring the White House and legislature Republicans, immoderate of it is targeted astatine Democrats whom galore successful the party's basal consciousness aren't vocal capable successful their efforts to stymie Trump.

Concurrently, different longtime and older House Democrats successful harmless bluish districts are facing the anticipation of superior challenges.

Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg, seen present connected Aug. 22, 2024 successful Chicago, is pledging to enactment superior challenges against older House Democrats successful bluish districts. (Photo by DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

This, aft recently elected Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg past period pledged to walk millions of dollars done his extracurricular governmental radical to backmost superior challenges against what helium called "asleep astatine the wheel" House Democrats – lawmakers helium argued person failed to efficaciously propulsion backmost against Trump.

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The determination by the 25-year-old Hogg, a subsister of the horrific shooting 7 years agone astatine Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School successful South Florida, to walk wealth against chap Democrats ignited a firestorm wrong the party.