Young Democrats have called for a rebrand. They're vying to replace the party's old guard

PHOENIX (AP) — Deja Foxx celebrated her April birthday in a way most 25-year-olds don’t. The extra candle meant she was now eligible to represent Arizona in Congress, and Foxx marked the occasion with a fundraiser.

She’s part of a wide-ranging group of young Democratic candidates, many running to replace older incumbents, who have grown restless waiting for their turn to lead their party back to power.

After a crushing 2024 election loss, they say the party desperately needs a rebranding — and young leaders should steer it.

In southern Arizona on Tuesday, Foxx is one of several Democrats hoping to step into a deep blue seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a longtime political power broker in Tucson. He had become one of the most senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill over two decades in Congress. Grijalva's daughter, Adelita, is one of the contenders, and three Republicans are vying in the GOP primary.

But the push for younger leaders won’t end there. In next year’s midterm elections, primary challengers have already begun to emerge in states like California and Indiana that will give Democratic voters choices between longtime lawmakers and younger candidates.

In Georgia, for example, 80-year-old Democratic Rep. David Scott’s decades-long legacy could end with a primary he’s expected to join. This has drawn challengers fed up with his refusal to step aside despite years of concern about his declining health and rare public appearances. The primary got crowded almost a year after former President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election race amid similar scrutiny over his age.

Challenging well-connected candidates can be daunting, but progressive leaders say the moment calls for urgency.

“Passing of the torch implies the leaders are handing it off,” said Amanda Litman, head of a group called Run for Something that bolsters progressive young candidates. “What we’re seeing right now is, the new generation is taking the torch. They’re not waiting for it to be passed.”

Many Boomer and Gen Z candidates alike have largely abandoned the traditional playbook of spending millions on TV ads in favor of TikTok and social media. But it's a pivot that older political hands would recognize from an older playbook: meeting voters where they are.

Foxx, a digital strategist, led influencer strategy for Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign bid. On TikTok, she speaks to nearly 400,000 followers, saying she’d be the first woman of “our” generation elected to Congress. In 2022, Florida voters elected the generation’s first congressman — Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost. The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, which Frost co-chairs, has endorsed Adelita Grijalva.

Foxx has leaned into popular Gen Z internet slang in branding her district tour “Crashout or Congress.”

“Does the news make you feel like you’re about to crash out? Be honest,” Foxx posted.

Foxx said her campaign turned a corner after a primary debate in late May, when some clips of her performance drew the eyes of millions and helped spark a fundraising boost.

If Scott seeks another term in his suburban Atlanta district, he'll face several candidates in the Democratic primary next May, including microbiologist and state Rep. Jasmine Clark, 42; state Sen. Emanuel Jones, 66; and 33-year-old Everton Blair, former chair of the state’s largest school district. Scott's campaign did not respond to requests for an interview.

Clark racked up 7,000 TikTok followers after a popular influencer reposted her. She occasionally pops in with solutions to people’s problems on NextDoor and is sometimes recognized as a podcast host instead of a state representative. She says Republicans have done a better job at saturating social media with their messaging.

“Instead of looking at Republicans and wagging our fingers at them, we could take some lessons from them,” she said.

Voters have been crushed by high living costs, Clark said, but Republicans, not Democrats, have been the ones to tell people their pain is real — even though Democrats have better ideas for fixing things.

Blair agreed that Democrats have better policy prescriptions for addressing voters’ economic concerns, but he said too many longtime lawmakers have stifled the party’s ability to get that message across. He said President Donald Trump is fattening the wallets of billionaires but cheating low- and middle-income voters “out of the American dream.”

“We have an incumbent who is just not doing the job, and we need a better fighter,” Blair said. “The stakes are just too high.”

Young people have grown up in a political climate dominated by algorithms, said 21-year-old Akbar Ali, first vice chair of the Democratic Party in Gwinnett County, home to some of Scott's district. That gives them a built-in understanding of how information spreads today, he said, but doesn't replace on-the-ground outreach to voters of all ages.

He said Scott’s physical absence is palpable, both in the community and as a voice in Congress.

“A lot of people are upset on a national level because we can’t hit back with enough vigor," he said.

Adelita Grijalva carries a household name in Tucson and is regarded as the front-runner. Former state lawmaker Daniel Hernandez, who is credited with helping save then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ life after an attempted assassination over a decade ago, is also in the mix of Democrats.

To Foxx, Grijalva benefits from her “legacy” last name.

Grijalva, who has received several endorsements, including from Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, has pushed back. She said she brings her own credentials to the table. Her father was progressive and antiestablishment, and she said she is, too.

But Foxx, who benefited personally from some government programs the Trump administration has slashed or is looking to slash, said Democrats need to do more to reach new voters.

“We are bringing people into this party, into this democracy, who have felt left out — by and large young people and working-class folks,” Foxx said.

In New York City, 33-year-old Zohran Mamdani recently won the mayor's race with an upbeat campaign that leaned heavily on TikTok and emphasized finding new ways to make city life more affordable.

In an era where so many young people doubt they’ll ever be better off than their parents, they’re increasingly willing to ditch pragmatism for bold policy platforms, said David Hogg.

Hogg was removed from his leadership role with the Democratic National Committee, which said his election broke party rules. His decision not to run again followed his push to oust long-serving Democrats in safe congressional seats. He has not backed away from his vow to primary “asleep-at-the-wheel” Democrats with fresher faces.

People of all ages want a fighter who understands what’s at stake as Trump cuts Medicaid and other programs that millions of Americans rely on, Hogg said. That’s why his political action committee, Leaders We Deserve, endorsed Foxx.

Young voters were key to Democratic wins in recent years, but some swung to the right as Trump made gains in 2024. Hogg said he's looking for candidates to “win them back” by talking about how change happens.

Older candidates can do that too, he said, but for better or worse, young people aren’t yet “jaded” by politics.

“In this dark moment, we need people who can provide us a general sense of hope, as crazy that can feel sometimes,” Hogg said. “To believe that maybe things won’t be as screwed up as they are now forever.”

Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. She reported from Atlanta.

Democrat mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a rally at the Hotel & GamingTrades Council headquarters in New York, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Georgia congressional candidate and state Rep. Jasmine Clark is pictured in Lawrenceville, Ga., June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlotte Kramon)

Georgia Congressional candidate Everton Blair, a Democrat, poses for a photo in Lilburn, Ga., on July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlotte Kramon)

FILE - Activist Deja Foxx participates in the Global Citizen NOW conference in New York, April 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)