Latest news with #StenyHoyer
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. Steny Hoyer raises $232,000 as he mulls reelection bid in Maryland
BALTIMORE — Maryland's oldest lawmaker hasn't announced whether he'll run for reelection. But if he doesn't, it won't be for lack of funding. Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Prince George's County Democrat, raised roughly $232,000 during the second fundraising quarter, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. After expenses, the cash influx gives the 86-year-old congressman over $636,000 in cash on hand for his campaign. He started the quarter with over $573,000. The sum is roughly $60,000 less than Hoyer's fundraising numbers during the same quarter of the previous election cycle, when he raised over $291,000 and went on to win reelection to his long-held seat. While the quarterly report won't be among the largest in Congress — Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Montgomery County Democrat, raised roughly $1.2 million, for example — it's a fair amount for a long-tenured member in a safe blue seat. The fundraising boost comes during a precarious moment for veteran Democratic leaders like Hoyer. Age has remained a top-of-mind issue for Democratic voters since former President Joe Biden's presidential campaign fell apart last year after he struggled to answer questions during a debate with the then-presumed GOP nominee, Donald Trump, leading to Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic nominee. It's only become more prescient since Trump's election. Three Democratic lawmakers have died since March. Each was at least 70 years old. As a former member of the party's leadership, Hoyer remains an influential member of the Democratic caucus, the House Appropriations Committee, and serves as the ranking member of the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee. Hoyer's office did not respond to a request for comment. The age debate isn't strictly about age, but health — whether aging lawmakers are healthy enough to fulfill the responsibilities of a member of Congress. Reps. Gerry Connolly of Virginia and Raul Grijalva of Arizona both suffered from cancer. Turner passed after experiencing a medical emergency. Their deaths reinvigorated questions about the party's emphasis on experience in leadership, particularly given the energy needed to keep up with the frenetic pace of the Trump administration. Being a Democratic lawmaker under Trump hasn't been relaxing. The president has blitzed a series of immense structural changes to the federal government that Democrats have decried, while Republican lawmakers have passed new policies that Democrats have detested — most recently, the partisan 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' that extended current tax rates while enacting cuts to social programs. Donations from political committees accounted for $140,500 of Hoyer's new funds, with contributions ranging from $1,000 to $7,500. Individual donations made up $84,700. The campaign spent over $169,000 during the past three months. Hoyer has held his seat since 1981. He is one of the oldest members of Congress and spent years as the second-ranking House Democrat before stepping down from his post of Majority Leader in 2023, saying that, 'The timing was right.' In August of last year, Hoyer suffered a mild stroke. Despite the health scare, he went on to win reelection, defeating Republican Michelle Talkington with 68% of the vote. He received 72% of the vote during the Democratic primary, defeating three younger challengers. At least one Democrat will challenge Hoyer in 2026: political newcomer Harry Jarin. Jarin's campaign disclosures weren't available prior to publication. -----------
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A parade — of speakers — and a hint of rain at annual Hoyer bull roast, but no hints on his plans
Rep. Steny Hoyer thanks friends and fellow Democrats Friday at his 44th annual bull roast at Newton White Mansion in Prince George's County. A cake was brought out to celebrate his 86th birthday, which is June 14. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) For almost an hour, the speakers at Rep. Steny Hoyer's (D-5th) 44th annual bull roast took turns heaping praise on the long-serving Democrat and heaping scorn on President Donald Trump (R). When it finally came time for him to speak, Hoyer mostly followed that script. And then he danced. Despite humid temperatures and threatening skies, and the prospect of a military parade Saturday on what happens to be Trump's 79th birthday, the overall mood was light among the hundreds who turned out to honor the dean of Maryland's congressional delegation — who turns 86 Saturday on the birthday he shares with Trump. 'We're gathered here today before Donald Trump is spending millions and millions of dollars of taxpayer money to have a parade to feed his ego on Donald Trump's birthday,' said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md). 'I can tell you, I'm not going to be anywhere near President Trump tomorrow, but I am very proud to be here to celebrate the birthday of a great American who didn't choose to have his birthday the same day as Donald Trump,' Van Hollen said. Bashing Trump and praising Hoyer served as part of the main theme Friday at the bull roast at Newton White Mansion in Prince George's County. Lawmakers including Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-4th) and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller (D), all of whom took a turn at the microphone. Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-3rd) chastised the Trump administration one day after U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed by federal law enforcement officials at a press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The secretary held it amid multiday protests in Los Angeles against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. 'The garbage that is being thrown at us [by the administration] where a group of goons threw a United States senator to the ground. It is unprecedented,' Elfreth said. 'What gives me calm on that House floor is, I can turn to Steny and sit down and say, 'This is just bulls— and what are we going to do about it?'' said Elfreth, who served long ago as an intern in Hoyer's office. 'And without a doubt, he has an answer.' One thing Hoyer didn't have the answer for Friday is whether he plans to seek a 24th term in Congress — a question that always seems to be lingering in the background of recent bull roasts. 'It'll be time for that,' Hoyer said in a brief interview after the bull roast celebration. Hoyer has been prominent in Maryland politics since before his tenure in Congress, winning a seat in the state Senate at age 27 and becoming its youngest president nine years lalter. He was elected to the House in 1981 to represent the district that currently includes portions of Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties and all three Southern Maryland counties. During that time he has risen to serve as No. 2 Democrat in the House. He has been credited with helping former President Joe Biden (D) get the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed and is seen as the quarterback behind an on-again, off-again push to relocate the aging FBI headquarters from Washington, D.C., to a site in Greenbelt in Prince George's County. After getting General Services Administration clearance for the Greenbelt site, the FBI effort has recently shifted to defense, after the Trump administration said it wants to relocate the FBI to Alabama. Hoyer has emerged as a leader of that fight Gov. Wes Moore (D) highlighted how Hoyer was instrumental in getting the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990. 'The reason that I love Steny Hoyer is time and time again when it was hard, Steny stood up,' Moore said to an applause from some attendees. Even with all the accolades, Hoyer has at least one Democratic challenger for the 2026 primary election. Harry Jarin, 35, an emergency services consultant and volunteer firefighter who resides in Edgewater in Anne Arundel County, officially launched his candidacy for the seat May 29. 'We don't need more career politicians who can't really connect with voters and don't really understand what people go through on a daily basis just to live in this country,' Jarin said in an interview Friday afternoon. CONTACT US 'If we put someone like Steny Hoyer back up for office for a 24th term, we're sending a message to the rest of the country that we're all about the status quo and that Democrats aren't offering anything different,' he said. 'Voters made it very clear back in November that they want something different.' Jarin didn't shy away from the age differential between him and Hoyer, noting the death last month of Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who was 75. Connolly was the third House Democrat to die in office this year. 'I don't think we should be reelecting people where we need to consult an actuary to determine whether or not they're going to survive another two-year term,' Jarin said. But for attendees at Friday's bull roast, there was no question about whether Hoyer deserves to remain in office. Prince George's County resident Henrietta Holiday recalled when she met Hoyer in 2002 at Joint Base Andrews. Holiday is an Air Force veteran. 'His relationships are genuine. When you're dealing with Steny Hoyer, you never feel like you're dealing with a politician,' Holiday said. 'I can see him running for another term. I would love to see him do what he loves for the rest of his life.' Most of the three-hour event was spent socializing between elected officials and friends, bottled water in hand on a humid day, and even some chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches for the fortunate ones. Minutes before the bull roast ended, Hoyer was presented a birthday cake. Then he decided to do a little dance. 'Ladies and gentlemen: Tomorrow, I want you to do something for me. When that parade comes on, you say, 'That parade for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army — and Steny Hoyer,'' he said. 'God bless you.'
Fox News
30-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
Two longtime House Democrats face primary challenges from younger opponents
Two Democrats who've spent decades in Congress this week became the latest in their party to face primary challenges from much younger opponents. Longtime Democratic Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer has yet to announce whether he will seek re-election next year for a 24th two-year term in Congress. If he does, he will face a primary challenger who is making Hoyer's age — the congressman turns 86 next month and would be 89 at the end of his next term — a centerpiece of his campaign. Meanwhile, 78-year-old Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts—first elected to Congress nearly half a century ago—announced last October that he would seek another six-year term in the Senate. He is now facing a primary challenger who has criticized what he calls the senator's "absence" in pushing back against President Donald Trump. Harry Jarin, 35, a volunteer firefighter and emergency services consultant, said Thursday in a new video announcing his candidacy, "If you live here in southern Maryland, I want to ask you a tough question. Do you really think that Steny Hoyer, at 89-years-old, is the best person to represent us?" "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." And in an interview with Fox News Digital, Jarin said: "I think we're facing a really serious constitutional crisis… Congress has really declined as an institution over the last three or four years. Congress has surrendered a lot of its legislative power under the Constitution over to the executive branch. I think that's been very corrosive to our political system." Asked about his motivation to primary challenge Hoyer, Jarin said, "It's not just about getting someone younger and fresher in. It's getting someone in who understands the need to revitalize Congress as an institution." 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, D-Calif. 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. "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, D-S.C. — 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. He represents Maryland's Democrat-dominated 5th Congressional District, which covers a region known as Southern Maryland, and includes the suburbs south and east of Washington, D.C., a sliver of suburban Baltimore and Annapolis, as well as rural areas farther south. Hoyer, who suffered a minor stroke last year, is the latest high-ranking House Democrat to face a primary challenge from a younger opponent. Pelosi and Reps. Brad Sherman of California and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois have drawn primary challenges, with Schakowsky later announcing that she will no longer run for re-election. Jarin told Fox News that when he spoke with voters in the district about Hoyer, they had concerns about the incumbent's age. "The main reaction I got when I asked people about Steny Hoyer was first and foremost his age," Jarin said. "The idea that he would be close to 90 years old at the end of the next term is just a little bit nuts for people. I think people are starting to process how extreme a situation that is." The primary challenges come as Democrats are still trying to regroup following last November's election setbacks, when the party lost control of the White House and their Senate majority, and came up short in their bid to win back the House. The party's base is angry and energized to push back against the sweeping and controversial moves by Trump in the four months since he returned to the White House. Additionally, while much of that anger and energy is directed at fighting the White House and congressional Republicans, some of it is targeted at Democrats whom many in the party's base feel aren't vocal enough in their efforts to stymie Trump. Concurrently, other longtime and older House Democrats in safe blue districts are facing the possibility of primary challenges. 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. 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. Jarin said that "we have reached out to David Hogg. We've been in communication." But Hogg told The Washington Post last month that he wouldn't support primary challenges against Hoyer, Pelosi or Clyburn. As for his ability to raise money for his campaign, Jarin said, "I do come from a political family." He noted that his husband was a major donor and bundler for former President Joe Biden's successful 2020 campaign and also served as a DNC finance director, and that his uncle had "been a big bundler for Democratic causes for a long time." "I think a lot of donors realize that this is a problem but may not be able to say it out loud for fear of repercussions," he argued. Jarin said that he's received "some pushback from donors for concerns of prioritizing more marginal districts" instead of pouring resources into swing seats as the party aims to win back the House majority in 2026. "My message to them has been that putting extremely elderly politicians like Steny Hoyer back into office for a 24th term sends a message to voters across the country that Democrats are just the party of status quo and clearly that message has not been working," he said. In Massachusetts, first-time candidate Alex Rikleen — a father, former teacher and fantasy sports writer, this week launched a primary challenge against Markey. While Rikleen didn't spotlight the senator's age, he did argue that "Markey, like many other Democrats, has stood silently by as [Senate Democratic Leader] Chuck Schumer surrenders Democrats' leverage" in battling Trump. Rikleen said that he is "stepping forward to challenge an incumbent because Democrats have shown us that they are not going to change course on their own…in this perilous moment, I believe we need dramatic action now and we are not getting it from our current Democratic leaders." And while he said that "Sen. Markey has been a fantastic leader on progressive policy throughout my lifetime and he is better than most at standing up for others. In a normal political environment, I'd proudly continue voting for him," he argued that "this is not a normal moment. Better than most is not good enough." But Markey has been very visible this year, as he attended protests and rallies across Massachusetts. And last month he traveled to Louisiana to urge the Trump administration to release Rumeysa Ozturk, a student at Massachusetts' Tufts University who was handcuffed while walking on a street by masked Department of Homeland Security agents and detained at an ICE facility. And Markey took to social media on Thursday to once again defend Harvard University in its battle with the Trump administration, pledging that "Massachusetts will not be bullied."
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Former 'Jeopardy!' contestant challenges Rep. Hoyer, emphasizing age difference
Younger Democrats are calling out older ones in the party for staying in office for too long. A former 'Jeopardy!' contestant is now challenging Rep. Steny Hoyer and making their 50-year age difference a massive part of his campaign. Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky and former Romney presidential campaign advisor Kevin Madden join Chris Jansing to share their political analysis.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
