Aging Politicians: Impact on US Leadership and Policy

US politicians, notably older, hold power despite concerns over age, impacting voter turnout and policy decisions.

### Aging US Politicians: Impact on Governance and Political Landscape
* 👴  The average age of US lawmakers has steadily increased over time, with the Senate averaging **64** and the House **57** in 2023.
* 🗳️  Younger candidates face challenges in gaining political traction due to voters' preference for **experienced candidates** who have **succeeded in other fields**.
* 💰  Older voters tend to lean Republican, while younger voters lean Democratic, leading to a **generational divide in political preferences**.
* 🇺🇸  Partisanship often trumps concerns about candidate age or health, as seen with Bernie Sanders' **strong youth support** despite being **74 in 2016**.
* 📊  Economic issues like retirement benefits and healthcare are top concerns for voters, with **different parties offering contrasting proposals**.
* 👵  The aging political class creates a bottleneck for young leaders, with many questioning why they should enter politics if they have to **wait until they are much older to attain leadership positions**.
* 🌐  Both parties are making efforts to bring in younger leaders, with Republicans appointing Senator **J.D. Vance (39)** as Trump's running mate and Democrats electing Gen Z member **Maxwell Frost** to Congress.
* 👥  The age discrepancy in US politics impacts policy, as younger candidates may bring **new ideas** while older politicians possess **valuable experience and knowledge**.

U.S. politicians are much older than those from other developed nations. President Biden, age 81, exited the 2024 general election as concerns over his age and health mounted. In North Carolina, right after the debate, he goes down and says, well, yeah, except I have trouble walking and I sometimes get confused. And so now there are some cognitive issues. The issue extends beyond the presidency. We have all of these elderly and in many cases unhealthy politicians who are in office. The first question is why? Because we have a system for getting people like this out of the political system. They're called elections. A lot of young people are very disillusioned with the political system. Former President Donald Trump, at 78, became the oldest presidential nominee in history when President Joe Biden removed himself from the race. I decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. De facto Democratic Party nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris is 59, about nine years older than the

median registered voter. Her campaign says it drew $100 million in donations in
less than 36 hours, amid a series of high-profile endorsements. The numbers we're seeing from the Harris campaign are
historic. I mean, I've never seen anything quite like it. Why are so many US politicians so much older than the
electorate, and how are they holding on to power in Washington? Over time, the age of US lawmakers, on average, has
crept up steadily. One of the reasons that Congress is getting older is
because Americans are, to a lot of that growth has outpaced the growth that we've seen in life
expectancy. But there are a couple reasons for that. One is that in the Constitution, we have age floors in
Congress. But there are also a number of other factors that
aren't just based on the Constitution. One is that it's really hard to be a young candidate
for office at age of our politicians is kind of baked into
the preferences of our voters.

Voters in the US don't want career politicians. They want somebody who is successful in a different
job first, and then they want them to bring that experience and perspective to Washington. The US Senate is Congress's oldest wing, with an
average age of 64 across its members when they took office in 2023. The average age of the members of the House of
Representatives is 57. Democrats skew older than Republicans across both
chambers. In 2023, the health conditions of some long-serving
members caused delays. We need a politician who has the stamina and the
physical and mental, the cognitive capacity to do the job well. The ideal is when you get a politician like Chuck
Grassley. You get somebody who's been doing the job for 40
years, knows everything about it, but is super helpful. Problem is that that can't last forever. You can have a situation like we had with Mitch
McConnell earlier this year.

I turned 82 last week. The end of my contributions are closer than I'd
prefer. Senator Mitch McConnell froze before reporters at two
press conferences in 2023. Did you hear the question, Senator? Running for reelection in 2026? He announced that he'll step down from his leadership
position in 2025, but he plans to remain in the Senate through his term to 2027. And when you talk about Mitch McConnell, he's always
had a ton of sway. I mean, the big names matter still in both parties. The median age of US presidents at the time of
inauguration is 55. Both Presidents Trump and Biden were much older when
they took the office. Their connections have helped them draw hundreds of
millions of dollars in campaign donations, a task that Vice President Harris must now take up. That's something to watch out for, is if it's a
certainty that some portions of the tech community are going to stick with Donald Trump versus
the vice president.

She has arguably a more of a direct line to the likes
of Ron Conway and Reid Hoffman. They just know her better. And so, with that, she has more of a chance to reel in
some people who are more undecided than Tech World into her camp, and even some people who may be
leaning into Trump's world a little bit. The US population today is older than it's ever been,
with a median age of 38.9. The age of the median registered voter has increased
two. It was 50 in 2019, up from age 44 in 1996 as the
country ages. Voter turnout is hitting new records, with two-thirds
of the country casting ballots in the 2020 presidential election. At the same time, younger voters showed up
at lower rates when compared to older generations. Voting really comes at kind of an awkward age in young
people's lives, where a lot of young people are leaving their parents' home for the first time, they're maybe
starting college or careers.

It's really difficult for them to have access to
resources that help them do things, just like register to vote. Older voters have a preference for Republican
politicians, while younger voters tend to skew toward Democrats, according to an August 2023 survey from Pew
Research that said young. People are disillusioned with the two-party option. A lot of young people are thinking that they might
vote third party instead to cast a protest vote. Most people's first election marks their party choices
for years afterward. You know, some people think, well, you just get more
conservative. You get older. That's generally been shown not to be
the case. We're sort of imprinted by our formative political
experiences. And so people who grew up say, in the 50s, which is
dominated by, you know, the Eisenhower years, tended to stay Republican and voted that way
throughout their lives. In the contemporary electoral environment, partisanship
tends to dominate characteristics of the

candidate, such as their age or their health, will be second-order concerns by comparison. Now, Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016 and had massive youth support, and he was 74 years old. But he came forward with a really strong agenda for wealth and power redistribution. And that really resonated with young people's, you know, egalitarian values, as well as, I think, their sense of fatalism. Fewer Americans can afford retirement, aging the workforce. A poll from UC Berkeley shows all age groups are glum on the economy, none more than the oldest. Older adults are engaged by issues that affect them. So Social Security, Medicare, increasingly Medicaid because it plays a big role. The Democrats have really staked out a position. They want to protect these programs. They want to protect Social Security. And it's been a Republican proposal, right, is to increase the retirement age. Concerns over public finances led a Republican committee to propose delaying retirement benefits to

69. If the plan passes, it wouldn't be the first time
the retirement age increased. But retirement is just one of many economic issues in
the United States. A March 2024 poll said that voters care most about
inflation, immigration, climate, and health care. The delay in retirement for politicians appears to have become a bottleneck for
young leaders in Washington. We see a political class that's getting older and older
and older and younger people, a lot of whom are trying to get into business and want to be successful
leaders. They say, why would I get into politics? Why would I get into politics where I have to wait
until I'm 75 years old to have a shot at these, at these, you know, important positions in leadership. Nancy Pelosi, age 84, left her formal post as
Democratic leader in 2022. The former speaker is running for reelection in 2024,
having already served for 37 years.

Nancy Pelosi, despite the fact that she is no longer House Speaker, is still a force to be reckoned with. We saw that with the fight with Biden. It's up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We're all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short. So a lot of people have had these conversations with their parents where they try to tell them, hey, maybe you're a little bit too old to try. And think about how a lot of those conversations go. Now think about how much harder it is to have that conversation with somebody who's been in office for 40 years, who you owe a ton of favors because of all the mentorship they provided you throughout the years. And who, by the way, employs a staff of dozens or in the case of the biggest politicians, hundreds of people who will probably be out of a job if they decide to call it quits.

Republicans have made way for new leadership in
Washington. House Majority Leader Mike Johnson is 52 years old,
and right-leaning academics are calling on young conservatives to fill posts in the government if their
party controls Washington after the election. In July, former President Trump appointed Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, age 39, to be his running mate in
November. Democrats have also welcomed a new generation of
lawmakers to Washington in recent years. I had a conversation last year with Maxwell Frost. He was the first Gen Z member of Congress. He talked a lot about why it was so hard to be a
younger candidate. For one thing, you've had less time to establish a
career, to establish a network of contacts and potential political donors to
your campaign. So I think this age discrepancy does have a major
impact on policy. Younger candidates definitely would come forward with
new ideas that we're seeing a lot more convergence between young conservatives and
young Democrats on issues like wealth.

redistribution or, you know, tax reform. Um, on on issues like universal health care. But then there's something called crystallized
abilities. These are source of knowledge and skills that's
accumulated over the lifetime. And that's really critical for somebody who is in the
presidency.

Why The U.S. Has The Oldest Politicians In The World

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US politicians, including President Biden and former President Trump, are significantly older than the average voter, raising concerns about age and health in office.

The increasing age of lawmakers is due to constitutional age floors, voter preferences for experienced candidates, and the challenges faced by younger candidates.

The US Senate is the oldest congressional wing, with Democrats generally being older than Republicans.

Mitch McConnell's Future Plans and the Influence of Age in US Politics

Mitch McConnell plans to step down from his leadership position in 2025 but remain in the Senate until 2027.

Both President Trump and President Biden, who took office at an older age, have been able to attract significant campaign donations through their connections.

Vice President Harris is now tasked with this responsibility.

The US population and median registered voter are older than ever, leading to record voter turnout, with older generations voting at higher rates than younger voters.

The Impact of Age on Political Affiliation

Younger voters are leaning towards the Democratic party, while older voters prefer the Republican party, leading to a growing disillusionment with the two-party system.

Despite the common belief that people become more conservative with age, research has shown that their formative political experiences have a lasting impact on their affiliation.

In the contemporary electoral environment, partisanship outweighs other candidate characteristics, and issues like retirement, healthcare, and the economy are significant concerns for older adults, shaping their political views.

The Impact of Delayed Retirement on US Politics

The potential increase in retirement age is causing concern about the aging political class and the lack of opportunities for young leaders.

Nancy Pelosi's prolonged career and continued influence exemplify the challenge of political transition.

The debate over when to step down is complicated by personal relationships and the employment impact on a large staff.

The Rise of Young Leaders in American Politics

Young conservatives are being encouraged to take on leadership roles in Washington, with Mike Johnson and J.

The challenges of younger candidates, including a lack of established careers and networks, are being recognized as having a significant impact on policy.

There is a growing convergence of ideas between young conservatives and Democrats, particularly on issues like wealth redistribution and universal healthcare, despite the importance of accumulated knowledge and skills in leadership roles.