challenges

From Jack Harris: It was a miserably cold, rainy and gray afternoon outside Rogers Centre on Thursday.

Inside the stadium, however, the Dodgers found some rays of emotional sunshine.

No, this is not where the team wanted to be, facing a 3-2 deficit in the World Series entering Game 6 on Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays.

And no, there was not much to feel good about after a disastrous 48 hours in Games 4 and 5 of this Fall Classic, in which the Dodgers relinquished control of the series and allowed their title-defense campaign to be put on life support.

But during an off-day workout, the club tried to rebound from that disappointment and reframe the downtrodden mindset that permeated the clubhouse after Game 5.

Every player showed up to the ballpark, even though attendance was optional after a long night of travel. “That was pretty exciting for me, and just speaks to where these guys are at,” manager Dave Roberts said. “They realize that the job’s not done.”

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this … and I could dive into my thoughts,” Roberts said of the team’s offensive struggles, which he noted could include another lineup alteration for Game 6.

“But I think at the end of the day,” Roberts continued, “they just have to compete and fight in the batter’s box. It’s one-on-one, the hitter versus the pitcher, and that’s it. Really. I mean, I think that that sort of mindset is all I’ll be looking for. And I expect good things to happen from that.”

Continue reading here

Hernández: Why Dodgers’ faulty bullpen construction will cost them the 2025 World Series title

Plaschke: Disappearing Dodgers backed to the brink of disaster after World Series Game 5 loss

The day the Dodgers attracted the most A-list celebrities in history — 67 years ago

WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE, RESULTS

All times Pacific

Dodgers vs. Toronto
at Toronto 11, Dodgers 4 (box score)
Dodgers 5, at Toronto 1 (box score)
at Dodgers 6, Toronto 5 (18) (box score)
Toronto 6, at Dodgers 2 (box score)
Toronto 6, at Dodgers 1 (box score)

Friday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio

*Saturday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio

*-if necessary

RAMS

From Gary Klein: Puka Nacua sounded as if there was no doubt.

The Rams’ star receiver, who sat out the last game because of an ankle injury, said Thursday that he was “feeling great” and planned to play on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium.

“That’s the plan,” he said after practice. “I’m feeling fantastic. Feel ready to go.”

The Rams returned this week from an off week after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.

Continue reading here

LAKERS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The NBA board of governors unanimously approved Mark Walter’s bid to buy a majority stake in the Lakers on Thursday, the league announced, marking a major shift for one of L.A.’s most significant sports teams.

The Lakers had been a family-run team since Dr. Jerry Buss bought the franchise in 1979. When he died in 2013, control went into a family trust with daughter Jeanie Buss acting as the team’s governor. The Buss family built the team into one of the most recognizable brands in sports, eventually attracting a record-breaking $10-billion valuation. While the sale was finalized, Jeanie Buss will be the team’s governor for at least five years after the transaction officially closes, the league announcement stated.

“The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports, defined by a history of excellence and the relentless pursuit of greatness,” Walter said in a statement released by the team. “Few teams carry the legacy and global influence of the Lakers, and it’s a privilege to work alongside Jeanie Buss as we maintain that excellence and set the standard for success in this new era, both on and off the court.”

Continue reading here

‘Who is No. 12?’ Jake LaRavia let Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves know during Lakers win

Hornets’ LaMelo Ball fined $35,000 by NBA for making obscene gesture

KINGS

Lucas Raymond scored in the shootout and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Kings 4-3 on Thursday night.

Marco Kasper scored two goals, and Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist for Detroit. Cam Talbot stopped 35 shots through overtime and denied all three attempts in the tiebreaker as the Red Wings got their third straight win and eighth in the last 10 games.

Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist, and Alex Laferriere and Corey Perry also scored for the Kings, who had a modest two-game win streak and a six-game point streak (4-0-2). Darcy Kuemper had 24 saves.

Continue reading here

Kings summary

NHL standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1948 — Sammy Baugh of Washington passes for 446 yards and four touchdowns and Dan Sandifer has four interceptions including two for touchdowns as the Redskins beat the Boston Yanks 56-21.

1950 — Earl Lloyd of the Washington Capitols becomes the first Black man to play in an NBA game. Washington loses 78-70 on the road to the Rochester Royals.

1964 — Kelso, running in what is billed as his final race in New York, wins his fifth consecutive Jockey Club Gold Cup, surpassing Round Table as the all-time money-winning thoroughbred. Kelso runs the 2-mile distance in 3:19 1/5, breaking the world record he set as a 3-year-old, four years earlier, by 1/5 of a second.

1969 — Lenny Wilkens, the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, gets his first coaching victory as the Seattle SuperSonics beats Cincinnati Royals 129-121.

1981 — Florida State freshman Greg Allen rushes for 322 yards in a 56-31 victory over Western Carolina.

1987 — Eric Dickerson, the NFL’s single-season rushing champion, signs a three-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts to complete a three-way trade that nets the Rams two running backs and six top draft choices over the next two years. The third part of the deal sends linebacker Cornelius Bennett to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for three of the draft picks that went to the Rams.

1987 — Jockey Chris Antley becomes the first rider to win nine races in a single day. He has four winners in six mounts at Aqueduct and five winners from eight tries during The Meadowlands’ evening program.

1988 — The first Monday Night NFL game was played in Indianapolis; Colts beat the Broncos 55-23.

1998 — Tee Martin of Tennessee, sets NCAA records with 23 straight completions and 24 over two games in the No. 3 Volunteers’ 49-14 victory over South Carolina. Martin is 23-for-24, with a record completion percentage of 95.8, for 315 yards and four touchdowns.

1999 — Tim Couch completes a desperation 56-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Johnson with no time on the clock to give the expansion Cleveland Browns their first victory, a 21-16 win over New Orleans.

2004 — The New England Patriots lose for the first time in more than a year, falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-20. The Patriots had won 21 straight games, including the playoffs, and a league-record 18 in a row in the regular season.

2006 — Miami’s season-opening 108-66 loss to Chicago is the worst loss in NBA history for a defending champion on opening night.

2008 — The North Carolina Tar Heels are No. 1 in The Associated Press’ preseason Top 25, the first unanimous No. 1 since the preseason poll began in 1981-82.

2012 — Jamal Crawford scores 29 points in 30 minutes in his first official game with his new team, and the Clippers convert 21 turnovers into 29 points in a 101-92 victory that extends the Memphis Grizzlies’ NBA-record streak of opening-night losses to 12. The Grizzlies are 0-12 on opening night since the franchise shifted from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001.

2015 — Triple Crown champion American Pharoah wins the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by 6 1/2 lengths in his final race before retirement.

2020 — Endland beats Italy 34-5 in Rome to win the 29th Six-Nations Rugby Championship.

Compiled by the Associated Press

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1972 — Gaylord Perry wins the AL Cy Young Award.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

TORONTO — It was a miserably cold, rainy and gray afternoon outside Rogers Centre on Thursday.

Inside the stadium, however, the Dodgers found some rays of emotional sunshine.

No, this is not where the team wanted to be, facing a 3-2 deficit in the World Series entering Game 6 on Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays.

And no, there was not much to feel good about after a disastrous 48 hours in Games 4 and 5 of this Fall Classic, in which the Dodgers relinquished control of the series and allowed their title-defense campaign to be put on life support.

But during an off-day workout, the club tried to rebound from that disappointment and reframe the downtrodden mindset that permeated the clubhouse after Game 5.

Every player showed up to the ballpark, even though attendance was optional after a long night of travel.

“That was pretty exciting for me, and just speaks to where these guys are at,” manager Dave Roberts said. “They realize that the job’s not done.”

Roberts brought some levity to the start of the workout, too, challenging speedster Hyeseong Kim to a race around the bases — only to stumble face-first on the turn around second while trying to preserve his comically large head start.

“Cut the cameras,” Roberts yelled to media members, as he playfully grabbed at his hamstring and wiped dirt off his sweatshirt.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reacts after falling while challenging Hyeseong Kim to a race on the basepaths during a team workout at Rogers Centre on Thursday.

(Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)

Then, the Dodgers got to work on their primary task: Trying to sync up an offense that had looked lost the last two games, and has scuffled through much of October.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this … and I could dive into my thoughts,” Roberts said of the team’s offensive struggles, which he noted could include another lineup alteration for Game 6.

“But I think at the end of the day,” Roberts continued, “they just have to compete and fight in the batter’s box. It’s one-on-one, the hitter versus the pitcher, and that’s it. Really. I mean, I think that that sort of mindset is all I’ll be looking for. And I expect good things to happen from that.”

In the losses at Chavez Ravine, the majors’ second-highest scoring offense struggled to hone that ethos. The Dodgers scored only three runs, racked up a woeful 10 hits and looked more like the version of themselves that stumbled through much of the second half of the season before entering the playoffs on a late-season surge.

Their biggest stars stopped hitting. Their teamwide approach went by the wayside. And in the aftermath of Game 5, they almost seemed to be searching for their identity as a team at the plate — trying to couple their naturally gifted slugging ability, with the need to work more competitive at-bats and earn hittable pitches first.

“We’re just not having good at-bats,” third baseman Max Muncy said.

“We’ve got to figure something out,” echoed shortstop Mookie Betts.

Take a quick glance at the numbers in this World Series, and the Dodgers’ hitting problems are relatively easy to explain.

Shohei Ohtani (who took another Ruthian round of batting practice Thursday) does not have a hit since reaching base nine times in the 18-inning Game 3 marathon. Betts (who spent as much time hitting as anyone Thursday) has bottomed out with a three-for-25 performance.

Other important bats, including Muncy and Tommy Edman, are hitting under .200. And as a team, the Dodgers have 55 strikeouts (11 more than the Blue Jays), a .201 overall average and just six hits in 30 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

“We got a lot of guys who aren’t hot right now, aren’t feeling the best,” Edman said Wednesday night. “But we got to turn the page, and hopefully we can swing it better the next couple days.”

“As a group,” Kiké Hernández added, “it’s time for us to show our character and put up a fight and see what happens. … It’s time for us, for the offense, to show up.”

Better production from Betts would be a good start.

On Wednesday night, the shortstop did not mince words about his recent offensive struggles, saying he has “just been terrible” after batting .164 in 13 games since the start of the National League Division Series.

Roberts tried to take some pressure off the former MVP in Game 5, moving him from second to third in a reshuffled batting order. But after that yielded yet another hitless performance, Roberts further simplified the task for his 33-year-old star.

“Focus on one game, and be good for one game,” Roberts said. “Go out there and compete.”

On Thursday, that was Betts’ focus, with multiple people around the team noting a quiet and renewed confidence he carried into his off-day batting practice session. He had long talks with hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc, special assistant Ron Roenicke and Roberts around the hitting cage. He searched for answers to a swing that, of late, has generated too many shallow pop-ups and mishit balls.

Dodgers teammates Mookie Betts, left, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman and Freddie Freeman wait on the infield during a pitching change in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“He looked great,” fellow hitting coach Aaron Bates said. “Actually, his head was in a good place. Good spirits. The whole group, guys were great. Everyone came and showed up and hit and got their work in.”

For the Dodgers to save their season, it isn’t only Betts who will need to find a turnaround.

While Blue Jays starters Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage pitched well in Games 4 and 5, the Dodgers also seemed to struggle to adapt their plan of attack — getting stuck in an “in-between” state, as both Roberts and several players noted, of both trying to attack fastballs and protect against secondary stuff.

“Sometimes we’re too aggressive,” outfielder Teoscar Hernández said. “Sometimes we’re too patient.”

“It seems like at-bats are snowballing on us right now,” Kiké Hernández added. “We’re getting pitches to hit, we’re missing them. And we’re expanding the zone with two strikes.”

Being “in-between” was a problem for the Dodgers late in the season, when they ranked just 12th in the majors in scoring after the All-Star break. That it is happening again raises a familiar question about the identity of the club.

Do they want to be an aggressive, slugging lineup that lives and dies by the home run? Or more of a contact-minded unit capable of grinding out at-bats and stressing an opposing pitcher’s pitch count. Roberts’ emphasis on better “compete” signaled the need to do more of the latter.

Freeman echoed that notion leading up to Game 5.

“If we’re going up there just trying to hit home runs, it’s just not the name of the game,” Freeman said. “We just need to check down and have, like, almost a 0-1 mindset. Just build innings, extend ‘em, work counts, be who we are.”

So, how do they actually go about doing that, ahead of a Game 6 matchup with a pitcher in Kevin Gausman who excels at mixing his fastball and splitter?

“Basically, you have to keep to your strengths,” Bates said. “And see what the next pitcher brings to the table.”

The only silver lining: The Dodgers have been in this spot before.

Last year, at the very start of their World Series run, they faced a similar situation in the NLDS against the San Diego Padres, winning back-to-back games with clutch offensive outbursts that helped catapult them to an eventual World Series title.

“We can do it again,” Freeman said.

“I think we’re a more talented team than we were last year,” Kike Hernández added.

Entering Friday, they will have two games to prove it. Now or never. Do, or watch their dreams of cementing a dynasty die.

United States President Donald Trump has said that an international stabilisation force will operate in Gaza soon.

But not long after, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel can veto which countries take part.

So what are the challenges in forming and maintaining such a force?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Tamer Qarmout – Associate professor of public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

Tahani Mustafa – Visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations

Mehmet Celik – Editorial co-ordinator at the Daily Sabah newspaper

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a speech delivered on October 23rd, launched family support initiatives aimed at boosting Russia’s population. Essentially, the initiatives are not new ideas, but reiterating them demonstrates the Kremlin’s unprecedented and renewed commitment to the earlier promises of reversing population decline within the framework of creating investment opportunities and working for economic growth.

Putin, attending the first meeting of the Council for the Implementation of State Demographic and Family Policy, made several points, including the following:

– outlined concretely comprehensive steps and created conditions that enable the birth of as many children as possible in Russia. A family with three or more children should be considered as a minimum standard. At the same time, it is also essential to encourage students in the system of higher education to combine studies with family life.

– suggested, without delay, providing financial support for families as an underlying factor for strengthening the demographic policy. It is necessary to work on incentives such as maternity capital, preferential loans, flat-rate benefits for low-income families, and low-interest mortgages.

– trashed side, in absolute terms, migration to replace the native population, which often sacrifices national identity and culture, and, importantly, could cause internal political instability.

– advocated strongly for addressing the demographic challenge by supporting large family traditions and preserving genuine Russian family values.

It is important to regularly analyze the effectiveness of the measures in the sphere of family policy, improving the system of social support to make it as transparent as possible, understandable, and convenient for families with children. This approach guarantees the future, preserves the ethno-cultural balance in Russian society, and strengthens Russia’s sovereignty.

Demographic complexities and implications

There are several complications in Russia’s demography policy, although officials and demographers keep analyzing family support measures currently in effect and identifying and scaling up the most effective of them. At least, for the past decade, Russia’s approach has simply not been working perfectly well as expected. Accurate statistics and population surveys reflecting the realities are needed for correct managerial decisions.

There is a constant temptation to use maternity capital to resolve various other issues. Naturally, families with children always face many of them; they are endless. Considerable efforts have been taken to raise the level of population, but with little results. Russia’s population figures are seriously staggering, with researchers and demographers pegging it at approximately 142 million. 

In the first place, Russia has a relatively high death rate, influenced by health issues and lifestyle factors. In the second place, the birth rate has been declining over the years, contributing to a natural decrease in population. Third, emigration, especially among young professionals and specialists, is due to a lust for better economic and living conditions outside the Russian Federation.  

Moscow, the capital city of Russia, is currently under reconstruction. Alternatively, the city periphery (outskirts), the new micro-region where residential apartment blocks are undergoing construction, needs serious migrant labor. Moscow city mayor Sergey Sobyanin reiterated that the municipal administration needed 250,000 (a quarter of a million) to work on the construction sites (fields). In addition, many are required for tidying up the city. Sobyanin complained that there was a shortage of labor. St. Petersburg, the second largest city, and other major cities are constantly complaining and stuck with new construction projects.

On one hand, Putin, in his October 23rd speech, indicated categorically his opposition to raising population by naturalizing citizens from the Central Asian republics. On the other hand, Putin, during the second Russia–Central Asia Summit, held in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, considered aspects of agreements encompassing migration of Central Asian citizens to Russia as a logical continuation of the close partnership within the framework of regional collaboration. 

Regrettably, legalizing 1.5 million (the majority from former Soviet republics) and transferring them to the Arctic and Far East regions to boost employment and systematically engage this labor in the production spheres is extremely hard for the Russian government. A well-coordinated and controlled ‘immigration’ could be one of the surest ways to allow population growth and comprehensive sustainable development and economic growth. 

Russia’s Logical Decision

In Putin’s candid views: “Different countries respond to this demographic challenge in various ways, including encouraging uncontrolled and even chaotic migration to replace the native population.” As a result, nations often sacrifice national identity, culture, and internal political stability.

Therefore, Russia opposes migrants replacing the native population, as contained in the speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was explicitly made clear that offsetting falling birth rates with immigration is destructive to internal stability and national identity. There stands the only option: Russia will support family values as the foundation of its society, rather than following in the footsteps of countries that try to solve demographic issues by replacing their native populations with “chaotic migration,” according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

SAN FRANCISCO — State Sen. Scott Wiener couldn’t wait any longer. The once-in-a-generation political opening he’d eyed for years had arrived, he decided — whether the grand dame of San Francisco politics agreed or not.

On Wednesday, Wiener, 55, a prolific and ambitious lawmaker, formally announced his candidacy for the San Francisco congressional seat held for nearly four decades by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, 85, who remains one of the party’s most powerful leaders and has yet to reveal her own intentions for the 2026 race.

“The world is changing, the Democratic Party is changing, and it’s time,” Wiener said in an interview with The Times. “I know San Francisco, I have worked tirelessly to represent this community — delivering housing, health care, clean energy, LGBTQ and immigrant rights — and I have a fortitude and backbone to be able to deliver for San Francisco in Congress.”

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced Wednesdat that he will run for the congressional seat currently held by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

(Josh Edelson/For The Times)

Wiener’s announcement — which leaked in part last week — caught some political observers off guard, given Wiener had for years seemed resigned to run for Pelosi’s seat only once she stepped aside. But it stunned few, given how squarely it fit within the broader political moment facing the Democratic Party.

In recent years, a long-simmering reckoning over generational power has exploded into the political forefront as members of the party’s old guard have increasingly been accused of holding on too long, and to their party’s detriment.

Long-serving liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ruffled many Democratic feathers by declining to step down during Barack Obama’s presidency despite being in her 80s. She subsequently died while still on the court at the age of 87 in 2020, handing President Trump his third appointment to the high court.

Californians watched as the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, another D.C. power player from San Francisco, teetered into frailty, muddled through her final chapter in Washington and then died in office at 90 in 2023. The entire nation watched as President Biden, another octogenarian, gave a disastrous debate performance that sparked unrelenting questions about his age and cognitive abilities and cleared the way for Trump’s return to power last year.

Visitors walk past a bust of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein at San Francisco City Hall. The former mayor of San Francisco served in the Senate until she died in 2023 at age 90.

(Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

As a result, age has become an unavoidable tension point for Democrats heading into next year’s midterm elections.

It has also been an issue for Republicans, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), 83, the former Senate majority leader who has faced health issues in recent years and is retiring in 2026 after more than 40 years in the Senate. Other older Republicans are facing primary challenges for being perceived as too traditional or insufficiently loyal to Trump or the MAGA movement — including Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), 73 and in office since 2002, and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), 68 and in the Senate since 2015.

For decades, many conservatives have called for congressional term limits in opposition to “career politicians” who cling to power for too long. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, and David Trone, a Maryland Democrat, renewed those calls on Wednesday, announcing in an op-ed published in the New York Times that they would co-chair a national campaign to push for term limits.

However, perhaps because they are in power, the calls for a generational shake-up in 2026 have not been nearly as loud on the Republican side.

Democratic Party activists have sounded the alarm about a quickening slide into gerontocracy on the political left, blamed it for their party’s inability to mount an energetic and effective response to Trump and his MAGA movement, and called for younger candidates to take the reins — while congressional leaders in their 70s and 80s have increasingly begun weighing their options in the face of primary challenges.

“It’s fair to say the political appetite for octogenarians is not high,” said Eric Jaye, a veteran Democratic strategist in San Francisco.

“The choice in front of people is not just age,” said Saikat Chakrabarti, a 39-year-old tech millionaire and Democratic political operative who is also running for Pelosi’s seat. “We need a whole different approach and different candidates.”

“There’s like this unspoken rule that you don’t do what we’re doing in this moment. You sit out and wait your turn,” said Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, 40, who has launched a primary challenge to Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento), who is 81 and has been in Congress since 2005. “But I’m not going to wait on the sidelines, because there is an urgency of now.”

A national trend

The generational shift promises to reshape Congress by replacing Democrats across the country, including some who are leaving without a fight.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, 78 and a senator representing New Hampshire since 2009, said in March that it was “time” to step aside.

In Illinois, Sen. Richard Durbin, 80 and a senator since 1997, and Rep. Jan Schakowsky, 81 and in the House since 1999, both announced in May that they would not run again. Durbin said it was time “to pass the torch,” while Schakowsky praised younger “voices” in the party as “so sharp.”

Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, 78 and in the House since 1992, announced his retirement last month, saying that “watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party.”

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks at a news conference.

(Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Other older Democrats, meanwhile, have shown no intention of stepping aside, or are seeking out new roles in power.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills, 77, recently announced she is running to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is 72 and has been in the Senate since 1997. Mills has tried to soften concerns about her age by promising to serve just one term if elected.

Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, 79 and in the Senate since 2013, has stiffly rebuffed a primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton, 46, accusing Moulton of springing a challenge on him amid a shutdown and while he is busy resisting Trump’s agenda.

In Connecticut, Rep. John Larson, 77, who has been in office since 1999 and suffered a complex partial seizure on the House floor in February, has mocked his primary challengers’ message of generational change, telling Axios, “Generational change is fine, but you’ve got to earn it.”

David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., speaks at the 2022 March for Our Lives.

(Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for March For Our Lives)

David Hogg, a 25-year-old liberal activist who was thrust into politics by the 2018 mass shooting at his Parkland, Fla., high school, is among the party’s younger leaders pushing for new blood. He recently declined to seek reelection as the co-vice chair of the Democratic National Committee to bring primary challenges to older Democratic incumbents with his group Leaders We Deserve.

When he announced that decision in June, Hogg called the idea that Democratic leaders can stay in power until they die even if they don’t do a good job an “existential threat to the future of this party and nation.” His group fundraises and disperses money to young candidates it backs.

When asked by The Times about Pelosi and her primary challengers, however, Hogg was circumspect, calling Pelosi “one of the most effective and consequential leaders in the history of the Democratic Party.”

A shift in California

Pelosi is not the only older California incumbent facing a primary challenge. In addition to Matsui, the list also includes Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Porter Ranch), who is 70 and has been in office since 1997, and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), who is 74 and has been in office since 1999.

But Pelosi’s challenges have attracted more attention, perhaps in part because her departure from Congress would be the clearest sign yet that the generational shift sought by younger party activists is fully underway.

Nancy Pelosi is sworn in as House speaker in 2007, surrounded by her grandchildren and children of other members of Congress.

(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

A trailblazer as the first female speaker of the House, Pelosi presided over two Trump impeachments. While no longer in leadership, she remains incredibly influential as an arm-twister and strategist.

She played a central role in sidelining Biden after his debate meltdown, and for the last couple months has been raising big money — a special skill of hers — in support of California’s Proposition 50. The measure seeks voter approval to redraw California’s congressional districts to better favor Democrats in response to Trump’s pressure campaign on Texas and other red states to redraw their lines in favor of Republicans.

Pelosi has used Prop. 50 in recent days to deflect questions about her primary challengers and her plans for 2026, with her spokesman Ian Krager saying she “is fully focused” on the Prop 50 fight and will be through Nov. 4.

Chakrabarti, who helped Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) unseat a longtime Democratic incumbent in 2019, said he sees even more “appetite for change” among the party’s base today — as evidenced by “mainstream Democrats who have voted for Nancy Pelosi their whole life” showing up to his events.

And it makes sense, he said.

For decades, Americans have watched the cost of essentials skyrocket while their wages have remained relatively flat, Chakrabarti said, and that has made them desperate to support messages of “bold, sweeping economic change” — whether from Obama or Trump — even as long-serving, mainstream Democrats backed by corporate money have worked to maintain the status quo.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leaves a news conference at the Capitol in 2019. At left is Saikat Chakrabarti, who was her chief of staff and is now a candidate for the congressional seat held by Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag)

He said it is time for Democrats to once again push bold, big ideas, which he plans to do — including Medicare for all, universal child care, free college tuition, millions of new units of affordable housing, a new economy built around climate action, and higher taxes on billionaires and mega-millionaires like him.

Wiener, who also backs Prop. 50 and would be the first out gay person to represent San Francisco in Congress, said he cannot speak to Pelosi’s thinking — or to Politico reporting Wednesday that Pelosi is considering dropping out and backing San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan in the race — but is confident in his readiness for the role.

Wiener agreed with Chakrabarti that big ideas are needed from Democrats to win back voters and make progress. He also said that his track record in the state Legislature shows that he has “been willing to take on very, very big fights to make significant progressive change.”

“No one has ever accused me of thinking small,” he said — citing his success in passing bills to create more affordable housing, reform health insurance and drug pricing, tackle net neutrality, challenge telecommunications and cable companies and protect LGBTQ+ and other minority communities and immigrants.

“In addition to having the desire to make big progressive change, in addition to talking about big progressive change, you have to be able to put together the coalitions to deliver on that change, because words are not enough,” Wiener said. “I’ve shown over and over again that I know how to do it, and that I can deliver.”

Political analysts said a message of big ideas will clearly resonate with some voters. But they also said that Pelosi, if she stays in the race, will be hard to beat. She will also face more serious questions than ever about her age and “her ability to function at the extraordinarily high level” she has worked at in years past, Jaye said, and will “have to answer those questions.”

If Pelosi decides not to run, Chakrabarti has the benefit of self-funding and of the current party enthusiasm for fresh faces, they said, and anyone — Chan or otherwise — would benefit from a Pelosi endorsement. But Wiener already has a strong base in the district, a track record for getting legislation passed and, as several observers pointed out, a seemingly endless battery.

“Scott Wiener is an animal. The notion of work-life balance is not a concept he has ever had. He is just like a robotic working machine,” said Aaron Peskin, who served 18 years on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, some alongside Wiener.

Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Oakland) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in September.

(Kayla Bartkowski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Amanda Litman, the president of Run for Something, which supports young progressive candidates, said there is pent-up demand for a new generation of leaders, and “older Democrats, especially those in Congress, need to ask themselves, ‘Am I the best person to lead this party forward right now?’”

Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Oakland), 48, won her seat in 2024 after longtime Rep. Barbara Lee, 79, who had been in the seat since 1998, decided to run for Oakland mayor. Simon said that to her, “it’s not necessarily about birthdays” but who can do the job — “who can govern, who can mentor and who can hold this administration accountable.”

As a longtime community activist who worked with youth, Simon said she is “extremely excited” by all the energy of young Democratic office seekers. But as a freshman in Congress who has leaned on Lee, Pelosi and other mentors to help her learn the ropes, she said it’s also clear Democrats need to “have some generals who are really, really tried and tested.”

“What is not helpful to me in this moment,” Simon said, “is for the Democrats to be a circular firing squad.”

“They’re digging.” US President Donald Trump appeared to acknowledge Hamas’s struggle to recover Israeli captives’ bodies from beneath Gaza’s ruins. Israel says it will not move to the next phase of the Gaza peace plan until Hamas returns the remains of all 28 captives.