For 33 years, Congressman Jim Clyburn's "Fish Fish Fry" has been an essential activity for Democratic members who want to shine on the national stage. But after the elections failed and with an aging old guard, some wondered if it was time for the party to develop some new traditions.

Just five years ago in South Carolina, Clyburn, then 79, was the state's Democratic King maker, and Joe Biden, then 77, was his coveted presidential approval. His past draft picks - like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have won nominations for the party, if not the White House.

Clyburn's recognition of Biden is widely regarded as helping the former vice president win the South Carolina primary and turning the trend in his struggling campaign. Since then, Democrats have had to reevaluate their choice for aging Biden – who reluctantly gave up last year’s reelection as his problems with his abilities keep increasing.

Many wonder if he had been hung for a long time after his successor, Vice President Kamala Harris, lost to Donald Trump. Then last month, Biden announced that he had stage 4 prostate cancer, a condition with a severe prognosis that would create a national crisis if he managed to win reelection.

Now, many in the party, including some who dined with fried fish and white bread at Clayburn party last Friday, wondered if the party would find new blood—especially after three congressional Democrats died only in the office this year. The loss means Republicans’ slim majority in Congress are supported, allowing them to pass a vote on Trump’s controversial spending bill.

“We have geriatric problems,” said Ashley McIntyre Stewart. “We need to engage young communities so we don’t have the Republican railroad.”

More than half of the 30 Democrats over 75 plan to seek reelection next year, including Clyburn, whose term will end when he wins 88, according to a survey by Axios last month.

The veteran politician laughed at the idea of ​​retirement.

He told the media in "Fish Fried" that he told the media. "I've been with them all month and none of them told me that I think I'm too old. Each of them told me, please don't leave."

He also had a second guess about whether Biden should resign earlier, saying his children and grandchildren don't care about the former president's choice.

"They are going to ask me what I did to make sure I live a better life," he said. "That's what I focus on."

Democratic voters tend to accept the risk of electing older politicians taking office, thus prioritizing youth and vibrant experiences. In 2024, only two Democratic incumbents in Congress lost their party nominations, while Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York are relative newcomers under the age of 50.

Republicans also have their own old politicians, including the 78-year-old president. But the 2020 election blow and Biden’s health revelation have caused some introspective attitudes.

William Godwin, a Democrat from Chicago, is visiting South Carolina and stopping by fish-fried fries, seeing Cleburn and hearing invitations from two Democratic governors, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Wes Moore of Maryland. He said he respects the wisdom of old politicians like Clyburn and Biden, but his party needs youth movements.

“We need activists,” he said. “We need energy from all kinds of backgrounds – not just age – to really put together and try to get some real elections.”

There are signs that some young upstarts have caught the attention: 39-year-old former chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti is Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who challenged former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her San Francisco congressional primary. Jake Rakov, 37, is following his former boss, Brad Sherman, 15, who is 70.

He longs for "new ideas and new energy to make Congress really work again," he told local news outlets in April, a Bay Area reporter.

On Fish Fry, winning the election after last year’s disappointment and the challenge of Trump’s second term agenda was the focus of speeches by the two Democratic governors, who are also the hope of the president in 2028.

Waltz, 61, was his party’s vice president nominee last year and he may not be the new face some people are looking for at the party, despite his warm welcome from South Carolina audiences. Moore, a 46-year-old soldier who is just the third black governor in U.S. history, talks about the "baton" in the hands of his generation, which is the most animated reaction.

"We're about to send messages that are heard nationwide," he said. "This is our time. This is our moment. We won't escape, we won't back down, we won't blink. We will win, just like those who were before us."

Democrats may have won the past, but last year’s failure was particularly shocking – Trump’s first few months have put the party in deep pain, requiring years of work to rebuild Democratic-backed administration plans and supplemented with worker rolls cut by Republicans.

"I gave Donald Trump the honor for this," Walz said. "He was acting so quickly, so fast, because of bad things, we'd better be prepared to move quickly and quickly to get good things."

Waltz said Democrats need to have a “hard conversation” about how to win voters who regressed to Trump last year.

In a few years, South Carolina will once again be a key battlefield for the Democratic presidential nomination. That kind of famous candidate will depend in part on the dialogue, including how to balance age and experience with youth and energy in the coming days and at other Democratic gatherings nationwide.