Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg, who has come under fire recently for efforts to oust longtime officeholders in favor of younger, more progressive candidates, pushed back Sunday on suggestions that the reason he is against some established politicians is solely their age.
“There’s a lot of people out there who want to make this all about age and say that we’re just targeting people because they’re above a certain age or something like that — that could not be further from the truth,” Hogg, 25, said during an interview on MSNBC’s “The Weekend Primetime” on Sunday. “There are older people who are great; there are young people who suck.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not like you just get above a certain age and you start being terrible. It’s a lot more nuanced than that,” he added.
The Hogg-led Leaders We Deserve grassroots group launched a $20 million effort in April to support primary challengers against Democrats already in Congress.
“The people that we are challenging, it’s not like it’s just because they’re above a certain age that we’re going to be challenging them,” Hogg said. “It’s about effectiveness and being able to meet this moment.”
Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland, Fla., school shooting at the high school he attended, also stressed that the group is only targeting safe blue districts, and not going after vulnerable incumbents facing tough general election fights.
“It’s clear right now: Far too many people feel like Democrats are failing to meet the moment,” he said. “And I think that we need to show — especially considering the past election when we lost vote-share with nearly every single demographic — what we are doing to change our party and show them that we are offering something new. Fresh faces and new ideas.”
Hogg came under fire earlier this month after he said during an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” that members afraid of losing their longtime seats need to “get over yourself.”
“This isn’t about you. This is about our country and it’s about your constituents,” Hogg said.
Hogg’s blunt message came after Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who is 84 and has held his House seat for more than three decades, rebuffed suggestions he should retire. He noted that he and other longtime House leaders — former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), both 85 years old — had already vacated their leadership roles earlier this year to make way for a new generation.
“What do you want — me to give up my life?” Clyburn, who served as the Democratic whip, told The Wall Street Journal.
Democratic pundit Bakari Sellers responded on the social platform X to a clip of Hogg’s remarks, calling it “wild” that Hogg would have the “audacity” to tell Clyburn to get over himself.
But Hogg denied on MSNBC that he was talking about the South Carolina lawmaker or his ilk.
“We’re not looking to challenge people that, you know, have incredible legacies, like Congressman Clyburn, for example,” he said. “What we’re looking to do here is make sure that we’re bringing in a generation of young people that is truly representative of our generation.”
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