Former ‘Jeopardy!’ contestant challenges Hoyer, emphasizing age difference

Former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) received a primary challenge Thursday from volunteer firefighter and former “Jeopardy!” contestant Harry Jarin, who is seeking to make age a centerpiece of the campaign.

In a statement announcing his bid, Jarin, 35, said Hoyer, 85, “represents a bygone era of politics that isn’t working” and that congressional seats should not be treated as “lifetime appointments.”

“I’ve seen from the inside how the Democratic Party has totally lost touch with working people,” Jarin said. “We didn’t present a vision of the future or politicians that people could relate to, and that’s what opened the door for Trump and extremist Republicans to take power.”

“Politicians in their late 80s like Steny Hoyer simply don’t know how to communicate in the era of social media,” he continued. “Democrats have to recognize how badly we’ve failed and change course if we want to win.”

Hoyer was first elected to Congress in 1981 and has not yet announced whether he will seek reelection in 2026. 

The primary challenge is the latest development in the debate over age in the Democratic Party. Recent revelations about former President Biden’s health, including a cancer diagnosis, have reignited the debate over his decision to run for reelection in 2024. Additionally, three Democratic lawmakers have died in the past three months, calling attention to the topic and creating vacancies in the House. 

Younger voices in the party have called for generational change, including Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg, whose organization “Leaders We Deserve” is focusing on challenging more than a dozen Democratic incumbents in safe seats.