California's Democratic incumbents are facing primary challenges from political newcomers

WASHINGTON – In Napa and surrounding counties, the once-easy re-election race for Rep. Mike Thompson is turning into a racing thing. In the Sacramento area, Rep. Doris Matsui is facing one of the most difficult challenges in twenty years. In Los Angeles, the former White House weather official wants to unseat Rep. Brad Sherman.

In these districts and others, newcomers are challenging the names of the Democratic Alliance in California politics in the June 2 primary election.

The challenges are part of a national wave reshaping the debate about the Democratic Party's productivity and direction ahead of the 2026 midterms, when party leaders hope to regain control of the House. They reflect — and capitalize on — the restlessness among progressive voters who are frustrated with the status quo, concerned about accessibility and looking for new leadership.

The question of when senior lawmakers should step aside has pitted both parties for years, from overdue health threats by senators including Republican Mitch McConnell and Democrat Dianne Feinstein to controversies created by progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The debate reached a critical moment for Democrats in 2024, when President Biden withdrew from his re-election campaign under pressure from his age and his sanity. In California, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, 86, has chosen to retire at the end of her current term.

Now, several California primary contests have revived a predictable debate: Some in the party see the argument that lawmakers in their 70s and 80s should be cast aside as old-fashioned and ignorant; others say Democrats need to allow change, especially after the party's failure to beat President Trump in 2024.

“The Democratic Party has never delivered, and the power structure there is collapsing,” said Eric Jones, 35, a businessman challenging Thompson in the recently redrawn fourth district. “Where is the hope, where is the dream? Where is the future? I don't see anything coming from this current political stage.”

Incumbents argue that the new face's trading experience is a false promise. In The Times' statements, several pointed to their legal achievements. “Now is not the time for on-the-job training,” said Thomas Dowling, a spokesman for Thompson.

The redistricting created by Proposition 50 has helped open the door to new candidates in the 4th and 7th districts, where Thompson and Matsui face challenges, making those races more competitive. Both districts were redrawn so that incumbents could gain the trust of new voters who had never seen them before in their ballots.

“They're still Democratic, but some of the voters are different,” said Christian Grose, a professor of political science and public policy at USC. “I think that opened the door for a number of those young people in the north, where the districts have changed.”

The two races are different — Thompson, for example, has received endorsements from young voter groups, such as the Sacramento County Young Democrats, and he's 75, younger than Matsui, 81.

Matsui, on the other hand, is popular in fundraising, with about $1 million to the $315,000 brought in by challenger Mai Vang, a member of the Sacramento City Council who is backed by progressive groups who have framed her campaign as motivated by working families and criticized Matsui for relying on corporate donors. Jones' challenge has forced Thompson to match his fundraising and door-knocking efforts — both candidates have raised about $3 million, their campaigns said.

“Some people think that being a leader is all about yelling and screaming,” Matsui told The Times. “I think it's about efficiency.”

Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), pictured in April, is facing one of her toughest challenges in two decades.

(Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call Inc via Getty Images)

A broad pattern is emerging

California is home to three of the 13 members of Congress age 80 or older who are seeking re-election in 2026 – Matsui; Rep. Maxine Waters, 87; and Rep. John Garamendi, 81. All three are facing their first significant challenges in years.

“It's going to take new kinds of energy, new ideas, and leadership, to fight what's happening in our country right now,” said Myla Rahman, 53, a Los Angeles Democrat in the 43rd district challenging Waters, who has held the seat for 35 years.

The primary election will also feature a number of open contests in blue states where longtime incumbents have withdrawn — including Pelosi's San Francisco seat and Rep. Ventura County. Retired Julia Brownley – giving newbies their first real opening in years.

In Alameda County, a primary election is scheduled for June 16 for the seat vacated by former Rep. Eric Swalwell. he resigned last month amid allegations of sexual harassment.

National Democrats, on the other hand, are focused on protecting incumbents in two California districts that the party considers critical to winning a majority in the House: Rep. Derek Tran of Orange County, who won his seat by just over 600 votes in 2024, and Rep. Adam Gray of the Central Valley, facing a competitive field.

In both competitive caucus races and Democrat-on-Democrat contests, analysts say frustration with the economy is rising among voters.

A statewide poll released in February by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 56% of likely voters believe a candidate's position is very important in determining their vote in a House race — but only 20% say they approve of the job Congress is doing.

Among voters under the age of 35, the numbers were starker: 76% named the cost of living as their top concern, and just 13% approved of Congress.

Those numbers help explain why new voters may be seeking new options from mainstream opponents, said Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California. He said most of the disappointment is caused by economic pressure.

“When you get a 13% approval rating in Congress among 18-34 year olds, that tells you a lot about how people feel about the status quo,” Baldassare said.

The trend reflects a mix of young students who are tired of waiting for their turn, some who are driven by ideas, and others who just see a rare opportunity against a vulnerable person, Grose said.

“If you are a young person with experience, it may be easier to beat someone who has been in office for more than 80 years than 20 people if they retire later,” he said.

A challenge to their opponents

Still, the newcomers face an uphill battle against opponents whose names are well-known in communities where they have been deeply embedded over the years.

Rahman, the nonprofit director, acknowledged that it's a challenge to run against someone like Waters, who is known nationally and has the loyalty of voters. But he said the cost of food, gas and housing has people questioning whether their representatives in Congress are doing enough.

In the Solano district, Garamendi, who has served in Congress since 2009 and held top positions in state government since the 1970s, faces three challengers — two Democrats and one Republican — in the redrawn 8th District.

“Experience is important, both when you're fighting Trump and when you're working to improve our community,” he said as he launched his re-election bid.

In Los Angeles' 32nd district, Sherman, 71, is trying to defend Jake Levine, 41, a former Obama and Biden White House weather aide who decided to run after losing his childhood home in the Palisades fire.

“For 30 years, we've been told that tenure equals performance, and that tenure equals progress,” Levine said. “But people across our state — who oppose $7 gas prices and housing foreclosures in LA — can hear that's not true.”

Sherman, who has been in Congress since 1997, bluntly dismissed the generational change argument.

“If you've never proven that you can stand up to the other side of a tough legal argument, you can just go out there and say, 'I've never done anything, I've never proven that I can do anything, but I'm new,'” Sherman said.