Move over, Maxine.
Los Angeles native and cancer survivor Myla Rahman is vying to oust Rep. Maxine Waters from the seat she’s held onto for more than three decades, telling The California Post that “people are sick and tired of the same old thing.”
Waters, 87, has not faced a serious intra-party threat in recent election cycles — consistently maintaining more than 70% of the vote in the heavily Democratic 43rd District. The long-serving congresswoman, who’s been in office since 1991, would be pushing 90 if she were to win another term.
That’s precisely why Rahman says now’s the time for “bold leaders to step up.”
“Time is of the essence,” the 53-year-old Democrat said. “So, why wait when you can make an impactful change now?”
The 43rd District — covering parts of south Los Angeles, including neighborhoods like Compton and Torrance — has been home to Rahman since she was 6 years old.
The health care advocate 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.
Rahman now 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 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.”
The last time Waters faced a challenge from a fellow Democrat was in 2012, when she and Bob Flores advanced to the general election. Still, she handily held onto her seat with 71% of the vote — on par with how she’s fared against past Republican opponents in the deep-blue district.
Rahman 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.”
Rahman is launching a campaign with just five months until the June primary, but 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.