We live in an era of stark political division, but there's at least one aspect of politics both sides agree on: a maximum age limit for elected officials. Most feel that after a certain age they should not be permitted to hold office.
There isn't just agreement across political lines, but across demographic groups, like age, too. Young and old, including seniors, favor maximum age limits for elected officials.
And far more Americans believe additional young people in elected office would be a positive for U.S. politics than a negative.
So what should that age be? When offered a list of ages, Age 70 is the top answer chosen. This is older than the current average age of members of Congress, but about a third of current U.S. senators are 70 years of age or older.
While young and old alike think elected officials should not be permitted to serve after a certain age, younger Americans are a bit more likely than older people to put that maximum age at 60 years old.
Would having more young people in elected office make politics better? Many think it would. We asked about a list of groups and even though no single group or answer garnered a majority overall, the top response was having more young people in elected office (followed closely by having more women in office).
Few Americans feel that having more older people serving in public office would make politics better. By more than three to one, they think that would make politics worse, not better, and this includes older Americans.
This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,085 U.S. adult residents interviewed between August 29-31, 2022. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as to 2020 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.6 points.
Orion14159 on September 8th, 2022 at 13:46 UTC »
If we cut it off at 65, these are the Senators who would be forced into retirement:
Dianne Feinstein - D, California Chuck Grassley - R, Iowa Richard Shelby - R, Alabama Jim Inhofe - R, Oklahoma Patrick Leahy - D, Vermont Bernie Sanders - I, Vermont Mitch McConnell - R, Kentucky Jim Risch - R, Idaho Ben Cardin - D, Maryland Angus King - I, Maine Dick Durbin - D, Illinois Richard Blumenthal - D, Connecticut Ed Markey - D, Massachusetts Tom Carper - D, Delaware Jeanne Shaheen - D, New Hampshire Mitt Romney - R, Utah Joe Manchin - D, West Virginia Mazie Hirono - D, Hawaii Ron Wyden - D, Oregon Elizabeth Warren - D, Massachusetts Jack Reed - D, Rhode Island Roy Blunt - R, Missouri Debbie Stabenow - D, Michigan Patty Murray - D, Washington Chuck Schumer - D, New York John Boozman - R, Arkansas Deb Fischer - R, Nebraska Mike Crapo - R, Idaho Roger Wicker - R, Mississippi John Kennedy - R, Louisiana John Cornyn - R, Texas John Hickenlooper - D, Colorado Marsha Blackburn - R, Tennessee John Barrasso - R, Wyoming Sherrod Brown - D, Ohio Rick Scott - R, Florida Susan Collins - R, Maine Shelley Moore Capito - R, West Virginia Bob Menendez - D, New Jersey Mike Braun - R, Indiana Jerry Moran - R, Kansas Cynthia Lummis - R, Wyoming Tommy Tuberville - R, Alabama Mike Rounds - R, South Dakota Mark Warner - D, Virginia Ron Johnson - R, Wisconsin Lindsey Graham - R, South Carolina Sheldon Whitehouse - D, Rhode Island Richard Burr - R, North Carolina Rob Portman - R, Ohio Jon Tester - D, Montana Jeff Merkley - D, Oregon John Hoeven - R, North Dakota Lisa Murkowski - R, Alaska Jacky Rosen - D, Nevada Bill Cassidy - R, Louisiana Tim Kaine - D, Virginia Maggie Hassan - D, New Hampshire Tina Smith - D, Minnesota
To be clear, over half of the Senate is aged 65 or older.
kaptainkeel on September 8th, 2022 at 13:21 UTC »
I wrote this a little bit over a month ago. Should be within 1 year of accuracy in terms of age:
The average length of service for Representatives at the beginning of the 117th Congress was 8.9 years (4.5 House terms); for Senators, 11.0 years (1.8 Senate terms).
The average age of Members of the House at the beginning of the 117th Congress was 58.4 years; of Senators, 64.3 years.
The current top 3 longest-serving Senators are:
Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) | Jan 3, 1975-present | 47 years, 1 month, 11 days
Chuck Grassley (R-IA) | Jan 3, 1981-present | 41 years, 1 month, 11 days
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) | Jan 3, 1985-present | 37 years, 1 month, 11 days
That is just the Senate. If we look at combined House and Senate time, the top 9 (i.e. those with 40+ years tenure) are:
Patrick Leahy (S) 47 years, 207 days (D)
Chuck Grassley (H, S) 47 years, 207 days (R)
Ed Markey (H, S) 45 years, 269 days (D)
Richard Shelby (H, S) 43 years, 207 days (R)
Ron Wyden (H, S) 41 years, 207 days (D)
Chuck Schumer (H, S) 41 years, 207 days (D)
Hal Rogers (H) 41 years, 207 days (R)
Chris Smith (H) 41 years, 207 days (R)
Steny Hoyer (H) 41 years, 71 days (D)
There are currently 47 House members who have been in office since before the year 2000 (only House tenure counted).
There are currently 13 Senators who have been in office since before the year 2000 (only Senate tenure counted).
Now, let's look at age.
The current oldest House member is Eddie Bernice Johnson at age 86. She was born in 1935. Some fun things that happened in 1935: This was the middle of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, and the same year that Amelia Earheart flew solo across the Pacific. It is also the year that the Hoover Dam was completed.
She has been in Congress since 1993 and is a Democrat. She's also the Chair of the House Science Committee.
There are a total of 13 (including Eddie Johnson) House members age 80 or above. These include: Grace Napolitano (85, D); Bill Pascrell (85, D); Hal Rogers (84, R); Maxine Waters (83, D); Steny Hoyer (83, D); Nancy Pelosi (82, D); Jim Clyburn (82, D); David Price (81, D); Alan Lowenthal (81, D); Lucille Roybal-Allard (81, D); Danny K. Davis (80, D); John Carter (80, R).
Of those additional 12 above, those who chair a committee or otherwise have a significant position are: Maxine Waters (House Financial Services Committee); Steny Hoyer (House Majority Leader); Nancy Pelosi (House Speaker); and Jim Clyburn (House Majority Whip). Special mention to Rosa DeLauro (age 79) as chair of the House Appropriations Committee (mentioning due to so close to age 80 and being a chair).
There are a total of 153 House members who are age 65 or higher. As the House is comprised of 435 members, this is about 35% of the House. As a comparison to US demographics, the percentage of the US population that is age 65+ was 16.9% in 2020.
Next is the Senate.
The current oldest Senator is Dianne Feinstein at age 89. She was born in 1933. Some fun things that happened in 1933: Middle of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl; the repeal of prohibition; construction of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge began; Albert Einstein emigrated to the US; Wiley Post becomes first person to fly solo around the world.
She has been in Congress since 1992 and is a Democrat.
There are a total of 7 Senators (including Dianne Feinstein) age 80 or above. These include: Chuck Grassley (88, R); Richard Shelby (88, R); Jim Inhofe (87, R); Patrick Leahy (82, D); Bernie Sanders (80, I); and Mitch McConnell (80, R).
There are a total of 34 members who are age 70 or higher; as the Senate is comprised of 100 members, this is 34% of the Senate. There are also a total of 55 Senators who are age 65+ (including those 70+); this is 55% of the Senate. As a comparison to US demographics, the percentage of the US population that is age 65+ was 16.9% in 2020.
Sebastian12th on September 8th, 2022 at 11:46 UTC »
Come on now. Surely Chuck Grassley is fit to serve at 95 right?!