After more than three decades in office, far-Left Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) could finally be shown the door.
Courtesy of her fellow California Democrats.
Los Angeles native and cancer survivor Myla Rahman is challenging Waters from the seat the 89-year-old has held onto for more than three decades, telling reporters in her campaign bid that “people are sick and tired of the same old thing.”
Waters has cruised to victory in recent election cycles and has never faced a series threat from within the Democratic Party as she’s consistently maintained more than 70% of the vote in the heavily Democratic 43rd District.
Waters, who’s been in office since 1991, would be pushing 90 if she were to win another term.
But that’s all about to change.
Rahman, a 53-year-old Democrat says now’s the time for “bold leaders to step up.”
“Time is of the essence,” Rahman said.
“So, why wait when you can make an impactful change now?”
Waters’ 43rd District covers parts of south Los Angeles, including neighborhoods like Compton and Torrance, which has been home to Rahman since she was 6 years old.
Rahman is a seasoned health care advocate who got her start in politics working for former Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald as a field representative, before taking several district director roles in the California State Legislature.
Today, Rahman focuses much of her attention on the healthcare space.
She currently serves as the director of a nonprofit called Angels for Sight, which provides screenings for people without insurance — and she intends on making that area a focus of her campaign.
She said her own experience as a cancer survivor and working with people who don’t have insurance has ignited her passion to reform the health care system, drive down costs, and put an emphasis on preventative care.
“My mission is to help with preventative care and people not even getting sick, and that includes mental, physical and mental well-being,” Rahman said.
In the past year, Rahman lost two siblings, a sister who was just 38 when she died from liver disease and a brother who died at 42 from an autoimmune disease.
“That’s another reason why I’m so passionate about this healthcare issue. My sister wasn’t able to get the help that she needed and maybe if it was a little bit more accessible, we could have had a different outcome,” Rahman told The California Post.
“So, things like this, lived experience, my own personal experience, the family experience make me very, very passionate about health care and saving people’s lives.”
Rahman is launching a campaign to oust Waters with just five months until the June primary. She told reporters she is confident she can give voters a different option than the one they’ve had for the past 35 years.
“We’re getting momentum, momentum is getting strong, and we think that we will have what’s necessary to be competitive and to win this race,” Rahman said.
Rahman’s campaign said it also plans on engaging a younger audience, while leaning into her strong ties to the district where she had to learn to balance multiple jobs while helping raise her siblings.
“My mom died when I was going to college. I had younger brothers and sisters that I helped raise,” Rahman said. “I know what it feels like to juggle all these things and I can relate to them.”
As for Waters, the last time she faced a stiff challenge from a fellow Democrat was in 2012, when she and Bob Flores advanced to the general election.
However, Waters handily held onto her seat with 71% of the vote.