President Joe Biden, 81, has ended his 2024 re-election bid as concerns grow within the Democratic Party about his viability.
“There’s a perception problem,” former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerry of Nebraska told CNBC in July.
The problem of aging U.S. lawmakers extends far beyond the presidency. According to researchers at FiscalNote, when the 118th Congress began, the average ages in the Senate and House of Representatives were 64 and 57, respectively.
“The age of our politicians is sort of baked into the preferences of voters,” said Christian Fang, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Michigan. “They want someone who has been successful in different jobs, first as a soldier, Or as a businessman, or as a farmer, and then they want them to bring those experiences and perspectives to Washington.”
According to a 2022 study by Stanford University, America’s national legislators are among the oldest in the world. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median age of the U.S. population will be 38.9 years old in 2022, higher than ever before. Population Reference Bureau. According to one statistic, the typical age of a registered voter in 2019 was 50, compared with 44 in 1996. Pew Research Center study.
Older voters tend to support Republican politicians, while younger generations generally prefer Democrats. That is to say, The average age of Democratic congressmen is slightly higher than that of Republican congressmen.
“This isn’t necessarily a generational war or anything like that. But in terms of the quality of the legislation that’s coming out of Congress, it’s really important for representation,” said Charles Hunter, an assistant professor at Harvard University. study.
President Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, has led to a surge in Democratic donations. In early July, former President Donald Trump, 78, selected J.D. Vance, 39, as his running mate, signaling that a new generation of leaders may be rising through the ranks in Washington.
watching video Read above to learn how older politicians retain power in Washington.
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