General Discussion

MineralMan

(146,351 posts)

30. Well, it generally takes some credibility-building

Mon Nov 30, 2020, 10:29 AM

Nov 2020

in local offices before running for Congress. That takes time. While people will often vote for candidates in their 30s for local offices, that's still just a starting point for someone who wants to be a politician.

So, suppose you want to be a Congressional Representative someday. You run for the city council, then the lower state legislative house, with maybe a stop in the state Senate. Assuming you are 25 when you run for city council. You're going to be 40 years old before you build enough credibility to run for Congress. Then, as an incumbent, you have a good chance of staying in the House for multiple terms.

It's easy to understand why the average age in the House is older than you might think.

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There are more people over 75 in Congress than there are people under 40. [View all] soothsayer Nov 2020 OP

Jon Ossoff is running right now JI7 Nov 2020 #1

Thought immediately of him soothsayer Nov 2020 #2

I keep saying if we want change we have to get the old white men out of congress. blueinredohio Nov 2020 #3

Their are a few old white women we should also replace... Wounded Bear Nov 2020 #34

Very true but we have a lot more old white men than old white women. blueinredohio Nov 2020 #36

We need the Republicans out of Congress treestar Nov 2020 #40

We all know that's not going to happen until we get rid of gerrymandering. blueinredohio Nov 2020 #41

I think as a whole Gen Xers have been less interested in politics Buckeyeblue Nov 2020 #4

It's a good question soothsayer Nov 2020 #5

I wouldn't say that is true Zing Zing Zingbah Nov 2020 #6

Right. Many of us are at different stages in our lives than boomers at our ages Buckeyeblue Nov 2020 #9

Kalama Harris and Andrew Yang are X'ers Zing Zing Zingbah Nov 2020 #7

Beto O'Rourke , Cory Booker, Julian CAstro, Steve Bullock, Tim Ryan JI7 Nov 2020 #14

There were many Gen Xers that ran in the Primary. Beto, Booker, Castro, Gillibrand JI7 Nov 2020 #15

The age distribution of our leaders increasingly resembles that of the USSR before its collapse Klaralven Nov 2020 #8

Please. NurseJackie Nov 2020 #11

At the beginning of the 27th Poliburo in 1986, Gorbachev age 54 was the youngest member Klaralven Nov 2020 #23

Correlation is not causation. NurseJackie Nov 2020 #25

I think that age has a lot to do with not being able to do without a global adversary Klaralven Nov 2020 #28

Lulz! NurseJackie Nov 2020 #29

Very true Bradshaw3 Nov 2020 #32

That's a ridiculous comparison onenote Nov 2020 #35

I want more progressives in the Senate. texasfiddler Nov 2020 #10

"Today, there's not a single millennial senator" NurseJackie Nov 2020 #12

A 40 year old is an inexperienced youth? Zing Zing Zingbah Nov 2020 #16

Generally and in the context of being a United States Senator? Yes. Absolutely! NurseJackie Nov 2020 #17

There has to be a first time for everything Zing Zing Zingbah Nov 2020 #18

I think the answer to that is quite obvious. Nobody needs me to spell-it-out to them. NurseJackie Nov 2020 #20

I don't think we should elect Senators who require on the job training.... George II Nov 2020 #33

Your statement isn't even generally true Zing Zing Zingbah Nov 2020 #19

Wrong. NurseJackie Nov 2020 #21

It's not a great place for old, jaded types either, based on my observations. marmar Nov 2020 #22

I prefer that "jaded-experience" over "reckless-enthusiasm". NurseJackie Nov 2020 #24

Because the Old Boy's Club BarackTheVote Nov 2020 #26

Aren't we fortunate that they had others of experience to guide them... NurseJackie Nov 2020 #27

That's becsuse of republicans. Do you think Tom Cotton, Cruz,Rubio are doing JI7 Nov 2020 #31

we can't, unfortunately Maxheader Nov 2020 #13

Well, it generally takes some credibility-building MineralMan Nov 2020 #30

Biden was the youngest Senator ever.... Demsrule86 Nov 2020 #37

That's what I though and what was said decades ago, but.... George II Nov 2020 #38

That's the choice of the voters treestar Nov 2020 #39