'At some point, you age out': Obama urges Democrats to pass torch to younger candidates

Former President Barack Obama says the Democratic Party needs to elevate a younger generation of candidates if it wants to win at the ballot box in the 2026 midterm elections and beyond.

Obama, who was 47-years-old when first elected president in 2008, is warning that older politicians can "age out" and lose a crucial connection to a younger electorate.

"I'm not making a hard and fast rule here, but I do think that Democrats do well when we have candidates who are plugged into the moment, to the zeitgeist, to the times and the particular struggles that folks are thinking about as they look towards the future, rather than look backward toward the past," Obama said in an interview with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen that was published this weekend.

87-YEAR-OLD CALIFORNIA LAWMAKER FACES PRIMARY CHALLENGE FROM YOUNGER RIVAL

There's been plenty of discontent this decade among younger Democrats with some of their party's aging politicians who have resisted bowing out and passing the torch.

NEW DEMOCRATIC GROUP PUSHES FRESH FACES AS PARTY'S BRAND SINKS TO HISTORIC LOWS

That sentiment was amplified by former President Joe Biden's decision to run for re-election in 2024 before dropping out of the race amid serious questions about the then-81-year-old president's physical and mental acuity after a disastrous debate with now-President Donald Trump.

"I'm a pretty healthy 64, feel great, but the truth is, half of the references that my daughters make about social media, TikTok and such, I don't know who they're talking about," Obama said in the interview. "There is an element of, at some point, you age out. You're not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through."

Younger Democrats primary challenging older incumbents is grabbing attention in this year's midterm elections.

AS CONGRESS GROWS OLDER, DEBATE HEATS UP OVER WHEN TO STEP ASIDE

Myla Rahman is aiming to use Rep. Maxine Waters' 35 years in Congress as political ammunition as she challenges the longtime Democratic congresswoman.

The nonprofit executive, Los Angeles native and cancer survivor, who is 34 years younger than the 87-year-old lawmaker, highlighted generational change as she launched a primary challenge last week against Waters.

"People are sick and tired of the same old thing," Rahman told the California Post in an interview.

Waters, who has been in Congress since 1991, hasn't faced a serious primary challenge in over a decade in California's solidly-blue 43rd District, which is anchored in South Los Angeles.

Waters isn't the only long-serving House Democrat from California facing challenges from younger rivals. So are Democratic Reps. Brad Sherman and Mike Thompson.

In Massachusetts, 47-year-old Rep. Seth Moulton is spotlighting the generational argument as he tries to oust 79-year-old Sen. Ed Markey in the Democratic primary.

Former South Carolina governor and former Ambassador Nikki Haley made plenty of headlines during her 2024 bid for the Republican presidential nomination when she proposed mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over age 75, which would have included the now 79-year-old Trump.

Trump ended up winning the 2024 election, defeating then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who was 18-years younger than her rival for the White House. And Trump's victory was fueled in part by a better-than-expected performance among younger voters.

Obama said he's hoping to energize younger voters through his presidential center, which is scheduled to open later this year in Chicago.

"That spirit, that energy, it's out there, and you can feel it, but it's bottled up," he said. "We haven't given enough outlets for young people to figure out, 'How do I become a part of that?' That's this enormous, untapped power that we have to get back to."