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... "It's really a sea change in American politics," said Evan Roth Smith, a Democratic pollster.
Some of it appears to be the result of the widening gulf between the generations on a host of policy issues, from economics to the US's relationship with Israel.
But Democrats have also spoken of a collective trauma in the party following Joe Biden's repeated gaffes and the collapse of his campaign in 2024, aged 81. That, and the Republican victories in the 2024 election, have left a mark.
The transformation in the party has taken place over a matter of months, beginning in Texas on May 26, when Julie Johnson, 60, lost to Colin Allred, 43, and Al Green, 78, lost to Christian Menefee, 40 years his junior.
Mr Green is one of the oldest members of Congress " although more than a decade younger than the very oldest.
In March 2025, he was ejected from the House chamber during 80-year-old Donald Trump's joint address for heckling and waving his cane in the air: possibly not the image of youthful vitality that his voters back home had been looking for.
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Then in June, Adriano Espaillat, aged 71, lost his New York primary to 32-year-old Darializa Avila Chevalier, who had been backed by another young, dynamic socialist " Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor.
Ms Avila Chevalier backed abolishing ICE and cutting off US military aid for Israel " many of the hallmarks of the younger candidates who surged to prominence this year.
"Israel is probably the biggest dividing line within the Democratic Party right now, and it is one that divides very neatly along age lines," said Seth Masket, a political science professor at the University of Denver.
"Older Democrats tend to be much more sympathetic to Israel, and younger Democrats, particularly those who came of age while [Benjamin] Netanyahu has been a prominent national figure, have a very negative view toward Israel." ...
