Breaking the silver ceiling: Democrats’ aging leaders should be mentors, not contenders

Depending on your pollster of choice, likely voters favor Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections by anywhere from 5 to 9 percentage points. That’s giving the party some much-needed momentum after a year spent in the political doldrums. But it isn’t soothing insiders, who feel Democratic leaders aren’t doing enough to address the “liability problem” presented by the party’s aging lawmakers.

That debate again burst into the open following the death of Georgia Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) last month at age 80. Scott is the fifth House Democrat to die in office this term, in a party whose leadership is dominated by politicians in their 70s and 80s.  

In fact, scan the lists of congressional candidates this cycle, and you’ll find a record 80 Gen Z and millennial candidates challenging Democrats aged 65 and older — up from just 24 last cycle. And those young challengers are increasingly outperforming older incumbents in both fundraising and polling, in some cases by double digits.

In short, Democratic leaders are holding back the party’s generational shift — and they do so at their own peril. Call it the “silver ceiling.” 

“There’s a real rift in the ability of Democrats to reach young people and have an authentic message that they are fighting for them when it seems that [older lawmakers] are fighting just to hang on and have another term in Congress,” warned Brian Derrick, co-founder and CEO of a political fundraising platform. “There’s a silver ceiling on what Democrats can achieve while this generation refuses to pass the torch and step........

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