.png)
German (DE) 
English (US) 
Spanish (ES) 
French (FR) 
Hindi (IN) 
Italian (IT) 
Russian (RU) 
20 hours ago
2
A former deputy communications director to 70-year-old Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) announced Wednesday that he’s seeking to dethrone his former boss.
“If you want to know why we as Democrats are so bad at fighting back against Trump, look at guys like my former boss,” 37-year-old Jake Rakov, who worked for Sherman in 2017, said in a two-minute campaign announcement video.
Using the Southern California wildfires as a metaphor throughout his video, Rakov claimed that President Donald Trump’s administration is “burning our government to the ground.” He also insisted that it’s time to fight fire with fire.
Rakov made three promises in his campaign video: to seek 10-year term limits for Congress, to not accept corporate PAC money and to host monthly in-person town halls for California constituents.
He also directly slammed Sherman, a 15-term congressman who has held office since 1997, for his handling of the wildfires, for being out of touch with constituents, for staying in office for so long and for selling his Los Angeles home to live in Washington, D.C.
“If I were in office and our district had gone through what it’s gone through, I would be here every recess with my staff out at the Westside Pavilion rebuilding center,” Rakov told Politico. “How can the federal government help? Who do you need us to talk to? He hasn’t done any of that.”
“We’re both progressive Democrats, and I’m sure we’ll find daylight on a few things here and there,” he said, “but I think this is much more about being a better member of Congress and actually doing what needs to be done in this moment in time.”
Rakov joins a couple of younger Democrats looking to oust older, long-term members of Congress.
For example, Saikat Chakrabarti, a 39-year-old former aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), is challenging 85-year-old former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Likewise, 26-year-old influencer Kat Abughazaleh is going up against 80-year-old Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).
Comments