Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said on Sunday that she believes the Democratic Party has an age problem as November’s midterm elections loom.
During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” McCaskill, who is now a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, told moderator Chuck Todd that she believes her party is struggling with the issue of age among its leaders.
McCaskill noted people she considers “ancient” are running the party.
“But I will tell you I do think the Democratic Party is struggling with an issue that is real and that is all of our leadership,” McCaskill said during the roundtable discussion. “And I’m saying this as somebody who’s ancient, you know, a lot of us are running the Democratic Party now in every part of the Democratic Party.”
McCaskill, who was defeated in her reelection bid by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) in 2018, also said that her party needs to establish an initiative to have more younger people in the forefront, citing the importance of the 2024 election.
“I think the Democratic Party will benefit from really doing some navel-gazing about how can we get more young people to the forefront because young people are going to be really important to us in 2024,” McCaskill added.
McCaskill’s remarks come after Vice President Harris told Todd in a separate interview that aired Sunday that she will run again with Biden if he intends to run for reelection.
“Listen, the president has been very clear that he intends to run again. And if he does, I will be running with him proudly,” Harris told Todd. “Proudly. I’m very proud to be his vice president.”