Democrat Harry Jarin, seen in campaign launch video, is primary challenging longtime Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland in the 2026 elections. (Harry Jarin for Congress)
"Here's the bottom line: you don't put out a fire by sending in the same people who let it spread. Send in a firefighter," Jarin said. "Maryland deserves a new generation of leadership, and I'm ready to take up the fight."
Fox News reached out to Hoyer's office for a response, but a spokesperson declined to respond.
Hoyer, who first won his seat in Congress in a 1981 special election, from 2003 to 2023, was the second ranking House Democrat behind Rep. Nancy Pelosi. He served as House Majority Leader from 2007-2011 and from 2019-2023, when the Democrats controlled the chamber.
Along with Pelosi, Hoyer stepped down from his longtime leadership position at the end of 2022 but remained in Congress.
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"I think all of us have been around for some time and pretty much have a feel for the timing of decisions. And I think all three of us felt that this was the time," Hoyer told CNN at the time, as he referred to the moves by the top three House Democrats - Pelosi, Hoyer and Rep. Jim Clyburn - to step down from their leadership roles.
Hoyer has long been a major backer of the Democrats' top issues, and during his second tenure as House Majority Leader, he played a crucial role in the passage of then-President Joe Biden's so-called American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg, seen here on Aug. 22, 2024 in Chicago, is pledging to support primary challenges against older House Democrats in blue districts. (Photo by DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
This, after newly elected Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg last month pledged to spend millions of dollars through his outside political group to back primary challenges against what he called "asleep at the wheel" House Democrats – lawmakers he argued have failed to effectively push back against Trump.
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The move by the 25-year-old Hogg, a survivor of the horrific shooting seven years ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, to spend money against fellow Democrats ignited a firestorm within the party.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/85-year-old-longtime-house-democrat-facing-primary-challenger-whos-making-age-key-issue