Rep. Maxine Waters said voter evaluations of performance, not age alone, should determine fitness for elected office as she faces a primary challenge from a younger candidate in California.
The 87-year-old California Democrat is competing against 53-year-old Myla Rahman, a nonprofit executive running as a progressive challenger in the race. Waters ranks among Congress’s oldest active members and has previously defended her continued service based on her legislative record and energy.
What Waters Said
“What do they do? What can you document? What can you give them credit for? What can you criticize them for?” Waters said during a Thursday discussion on Capitol Hill. “If you do what it takes to evaluate, then you can decide.”
Waters stressed that voters should assess candidates based on effectiveness and accomplishments rather than chronological age. She declined to address whether an 80-year-old president might face age-related concerns.
Rahman’s Challenge
Rahman has centered her campaign on generational change, emphasizing that the district’s median age is 36 years old. “People want new leadership,” Rahman said, pointing to her experience as a renter and parent navigating housing costs and schools within the community.
Rahman argued that elections should focus on future direction instead of past achievements, contrasting her vision with Waters’s decades-long career.
Waters’ Record
Waters has maintained that her experience and continued daily engagement justify another congressional term. In February, she appeared at an anti-ICE demonstration in downtown Los Angeles, standing near officers in riot gear as police deployed pepper balls and tear gas.
“What I see here at the detention center are people exercising their constitutional rights,” Waters said at the protest. Thousands gathered outside City Hall before marching to the detention facility.
