The recent freezing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in front of the cameras, coinciding with the relatively advanced age of the most likely presidential candidates, prompted American voters to think about the ages of politicians.
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Presidents are getting older and older. Former President Donald Trump was the oldest person to take office when he was sworn in on January 20, 2017, and President Biden broke that record four years later. If either of them is elected again next year, at the ages of 78 and 81 respectively, they will be older than the previous record holder, Ronald Reagan, when he assumed the presidency. Leave He took office at the age of 77 years.
The prospect of an octogenarian on the presidential ticket worries many Americans — perhaps because it’s not just the presidency that’s getting older. The current Congress, with an average age of 65 in the Senate and 58 in the House, It is the oldest in history. Last week, when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 81, appeared to freeze while speaking for the second time in two months, there was There are renewed calls for him to step downand 90-year-old California Senator Dianne Feinstein It has been subject to similar scrutiny After a series of health problems. This was done by former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, 51, who is running for the Republican nomination. He called for proficiency tests For candidates over the age of 75, her rival Vivek Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old businessman, He said it was time for a new generation To advance and lead.
Voters are concerned about the age of candidates and elected officials, especially when it comes to Biden. The vast majority of American adults, 77%, say it is too old to be effective for another four years. According to a poll conducted by AP-NORC In August. Fifty-seven percent of registered voters believe age severely limits President Biden’s ability to do his job In an August Economist/YouGov poll. Similar questions were asked about Feinstein and McConnell, with 60% saying the same.
But will voters actually start rejecting candidates because of their age? There are plenty of reasons why older politicians continue to hold power — and the structure of our political system makes it difficult to force them out, even as Americans’ concerns about the country’s aging political leadership mount. This is why Americans may continue to support older politicians when they are at the ballot box, even when they say they prefer a younger leadership group.
Americans are increasingly concerned about the age of politicians
Biden may be the oldest president in US history, but concerns about whether presidents are too old for the job have lingered for some time. Americans became increasingly concerned about Reagan’s age during his term. At the start of his second term in 1985, 33% of respondents to an ABC/Washington Post poll said Reagan was too old to be president, but by 1987 that number had risen to 42%. And the January 1987 survey of Lewis Harris & Company It found that 48% of respondents agreed with the statement that Reagan was too old to be president.
In the modern era, presidents have traditionally published details about their health, and the public demands transparency, because the job is physically and mentally demanding, and voters want to be sure that the person they elect is doing the job. Concerns about this have a basis in past events: President Woodrow Wilson He was able to hide the effects of the stroke In 1919 most of the American public, and his wife Edith essentially served as de facto president until his second term ended in 1921. Later, in 1967, Ratification of the Twenty-fifth Amendment Outline what should happen if the president dies or becomes incapacitated.
But presidents haven’t always done that It was imminent Informative. In the absence of a diagnosis, voters often relied on external signs that their candidates were right He may not be able To do their job. Perhaps the most obvious is the age of the candidate, simply because we face a greater chance of developing serious medical problems and dying as we get older.
But in practice, it’s difficult to draw bright lines, partly because age is not a perfect indicator of health. Some older politicians are viewed as more capable than others: 34% of voters believe the age of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is nearly 82, severely limited his ability to do his job in the August election. Poll of Economists/YouGov28 percent said age would limit Trump’s ability to become president if elected again. These differences suggest that it is not just age discrimination, but rather the specific health conditions of some politicians that are reported in the media and to which voters respond; Or, in Biden’s case, Report every stumble on the stairs to Air Force One.
The health conditions that can come with age, even chronic ones that require accommodations, don’t necessarily mean elected officials can’t serve effectively, which speaks to a broader issue of how voters make assumptions about candidates’ suitability for office. For example, people with physical and mental disabilities are underrepresented in government, with only one in 10 elected representatives having a disability, while nearly 16 percent of adults in the total population have one. According to a study from Rutgers University. Like Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman The campaign showedCandidates may face discrimination when disability is confused with cognitive ability. The need for housing does not mean that the elected representative is unable to work. “You also don’t want to lose the potential contributions of someone who is older but very talented and now also has the advantage of experience to bring to the table,” says James M. Carey, a political scientist at the University of Utah. .
However, some voters believe we should have clearer rules about when a politician becomes too old to serve. Sixty-seven percent of respondents strongly or somewhat supported setting a specific age for serving in the Senate in a YouGov/UMass Amherst poll in June58% of adults believe that setting the working age as a boss would be a good idea In a Marist poll from last November. Sixty-eight percent of participants preferred mental aptitude tests for candidates over 75 years of age In a YouGov/Yahoo poll conducted in February. A majority, 48%, believe the job of president is too difficult for someone over 75, according to one study. CBS/YouGov poll from June. Overall, Americans’ preference for young leadership is clear: About half of Americans believe the ideal age for a president is someone in their 50s. According to the Pew Research Center.
The risk of a politician being unable to do his or her job is not the only concern that may fuel these perceptions. The age of voters and the members of Congress they elect means that Programs and issues important to older votersIssues, from Social Security to elder abuse, are more likely to receive attention than issues more important to younger voters, such as student loans.
“I think the biggest reason why younger Americans want younger legislators is because they feel like they’re not well represented by older Americans, both from the standpoint of things that older representatives might focus on or talk about that are different from what a younger candidate might do.” “But also because they, like all Americans, want to see themselves represented in government,” Carey said. “Younger Americans are missing out on that representation now, and it makes them less satisfied with their representative government and less satisfied with their democracy.”
However, it is also possible that despite what they say, voters would prefer to re-elect someone with experience and seniority. William J. says: “The Constitution sets minimum ages for the presidency, the House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate, but it does not set a maximum,” said Cole, author of “The Big 100: The New World of Supermarkets.” Old age.” “And you have to believe that the Framers clearly preferred experience to youth. “That’s part of our DNA in some ways, politically.”
But our system can ensure that older politicians remain in power
There are some factors that contribute to the aging of our politics, and they provide a glimpse into why voters choose older candidates even though they say in polls that they prefer younger candidates. The first is simple demographics. Older voters are more likely to vote and are more likely to cast a ballot Choose candidates closest to their age. Younger generations of voters did not Transgression Baby Boomers through 2018. Millennials They now outnumber baby boomers as the largest generation in Americabut the youngest millennial, at 25, is now old enough to qualify to run for federal office. The Constitution requires Candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives must be at least 25 years old, and at least 30 years old for the Senate, and most candidates have prior experience before running for those senior positions. They also need to build name recognition and a fundraising base. And that’s why, even Generation X and Millennials Still lagging behind in representation.
This leaves baby boomers overrepresented in Congress, He took almost half of the positions. It is also difficult to force older generations to give up power if they do not want to step down. there Strong incumbency bias For federal offices, the current structure of Congress rewards seniority, enabling longer-serving members who are appointed to committees to receive more attention to the needs of their constituents. In the last century, the average length of service for members of Congress It increased Members have become more likely to seek and win re-election.
Cost Running for office also increasedAnd the current politicians have Huge advantage for fundraising. In the United States, the decision on whether to run for re-election is largely left up to the candidates themselves. In countries with different systems, administrative bodies It could be more representative Because parties can put more pressure on candidates to leave and recruit younger members to serve more effectively. American voters may not elect younger candidates because they don’t have the options available to them.
As Americans continue to live longer and longer, this may just be the future of politics. “I think, frankly, it’s up to older leaders to be self-aware enough to find time to step aside,” Cole said.
Mary Radcliffe contributed to the research.
