""It was the most painful thing I've been through since my own parents aging," she said of her up-close experiences with the former president. "Nobody wants to face incapacity." It forced Kuster to look hard at her party. Months before the fateful presidential debate that exposed Biden's frailty, Kuster, at a mere 68 years old, announced her retirement, having served in Congress for 12 years after turning a red seat reliably blue."
"A battle between generations is taking place in races across the country. The mayoral race in New York has pitted 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani against not only 67-year-old Andrew Cuomo but also 74-year-old Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who still hasn't endorsed the younger candidate, presumably because of some combination of Mamdani's left-wing, pro-Palestinian positions and his temerity in believing his elders don't have a monopoly on"
Annie Kuster cites last year's election losses and Joe Biden's rapid decline as deeply affecting her and prompting retirement at 68 after 12 years in Congress. Kuster says age-related limits affected her ability to handle complex modern issues such as AI and cryptocurrency on the Energy and Commerce Committee. She warns that Democratic leaders' advanced ages contributed to poor voter perception and blocked generational renewal by clinging to power. She argues that the party needs new, younger leaders rather than searching for a simple change in messaging. A broader generational battle is evident in races nationwide, including a New York mayoral contest pitting a younger progressive against older establishment figures.
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