88-Year-Old House Democrat Says She’s Running Again: ‘I Am Not Going To Step Aside’

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Eighty-eight-year-old Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton announced on Thursday that she would be seeking re-election in 2026 as a delegate to Congress from Washington, D.C. ,despite her advanced age.

Asked by Axios whether she would be seeking re-election despite growing concerns about her age, Norton – the oldest person in Congress – said, “Of course.”

“I say that my seniority is what is very important, and I am not going to step aside,” the non-voting member declared.

Eighty-year-old Rep. David Scott (D-GA) and 77-year-old Rep. John Larson (D-CT) also told Axios they were planning to run for re-election, despite concerns over their health.

“Generational change is fine, but you’ve got to earn it,” said Larson, who suffered a “complex partial seizure” on the House floor in February. “It’s not like, ‘Oh geez, you know what, why didn’t I think of that? Now’s the time for me to step down because, well, it’s generational change!'”

Seventy-eight-year-old Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) announced on Monday that he would not be seeking re-election to Congress, citing “the necessity for generational change” in the Democratic Party.

“Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” Nadler told the New York Times, acknowledging that a younger representative could “maybe do better” and “help us more.”

Eleven out of the fourteen members of Congress over the age of 80 are Democrats.

In the past six months alone, three members of Congress – all Democrats – have passed away in office.

While the second-oldest person in Congress, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), is a Republican, the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th oldest members are all Democrats.