America is aging–but so are her leaders.

Gerontocracy. It's a term first coined by Jean-Jacques Fazy in 1828, literally meaning “rule by elders,” derived from the Greek roots geron and kratos. The phenomenon of aging politicians is no new story, but it is one that should have been left in the past. 

The U.S. has an issue. When politicians are disproportionately older, representation begins to drift away from the average constituent, who, according to census data, is just 39 years old nationally and about 38 years old in Georgia. 

Despite this, the 119th Congress began last year with median ages of 57.5 in the House and 64.7 in the Senate. The two latest presidents, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, are the two oldest in history—and by nearly a decade. At the state level, the age of Georgia’s legislature is 55.4 years old on average. The result is a governing class writing policy for an electorate whose life stage it no longer reflects. 

While some may say that age equals wisdom, wisdom does not eliminate divergence, misalignment, or misrepresentation.To a median voter in their late thirties, housing is not a philosophical debate. Child care isn’t an ethical dilemma. Student loans, digital privacy, climate anxiety and other future-oriented topics are immediate, lived realities—not abstract talking points. Yet, when the room leans twenty years older than the public, priorities lean with it, and younger generations are left behind. 

Others may argue that taking action to close this gap is discriminatory based on age, doesn’t account for merit, and is harmful to our democracy. However, this argument overlooks a key inconsistency: age minimums are already embedded in the system. While it is not unheard of to age well, age-related cognitive decline can, in some cases, affect the abilities required to meet the demands of public office.

According to a Pew Research survey, 79% of Americans support maximum age limits for elected officials in Washington, D.C., and 74% favor maximum age limits for Supreme Court justices. So, why do they still elect and appoint timelessly older candidates at such high rates? 

The answer is that the U.S. political system is structured to do just that. Low primary turnout, donor pools skewed toward older Americans, and entrenched political networks all contribute to an upward age bias among candidates. According to a study published in the Journal of Public Economics, the median campaign donor in federal elections is about 66 years old, older than both the median voter and the typical member of Congress. In effect, the flow of money reinforces the age structure of political power.

Globally, the age gap is apparent, but the U.S. still stands out. The Inter-Parliamentary Union reports that only 2.8% of members of parliament worldwide are aged 30 or younger. Yet, in many democratic governments that use proportional representation, the ages of politicians more closely match those of the public. Ranked-choice voting, political pluralism, and party lists allow younger candidates to enter legislatures without being primaried out by entrenched financial advantages. However, American systems reward longevity, which allows for holding office until retirement or scandal. 

Georgia is a case study. While it has lower age minimums to serve at 21 for the House and 25 for the Senate, those numbers actually mean little. The state’s “citizen legislature” model doesn’t pay well and meets in the daytime, assuming members can afford to step away from regular work. That is not a design for young parents or people in their early careers. Instead, it favors retirees and those with financial flexibility.

When voters are presented with ballots dominated by candidates decades older than themselves, trust in the political system erodes—fueling lower turnout and growing cynicism. A country led disproportionately by its eldest risks disconnecting from its future.

Solutions exist, but they require a sense of political pluralism that is not generally accepted by the rigid two-party government we see today. The most obvious one is to add age limits to holding office. Still, stipends, child-care support, and more predictable calendars would allow more working-age Georgians to enter the General Assembly. 

Another thought is to encourage ranked-choice systems and minor reforms, such as dashboards comparing representatives' ages to their constituencies, which would make the gap visible and harder for people to ignore. 

Gerontocracy was meant as a warning when Fazy wrote the word nearly two centuries ago. Today, it describes American politics. The average American is about 39. The youngest sitting senator, Jon Ossoff, is the same age. These are not just statistics—they highlight a widening gap between those who govern and those they represent. A system so far removed from the lived experiences of its people is not simply aging—it is misaligned.

Works Cited

Bonica, Adam, and Jacob M. Grumbach. "Old Money: Campaign Finance and Gerontocracy in the United States." Journal of Public Economics 249 (September 2025): 105451. 

Center for Youth Political Participation. “2022-2023 General Assembly Statistical Analysis.” Rutgers University, April 2024. https://cypp.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2022-2023-GA-Lesgislature.pdf. 

Center for Youth Political Participation. “The 119th U.S. Congress.” Rutgers University, 2025. https://cypp.rutgers.edu/the-119th-u-s-congress-2/. 

DeSilver, Drew. “Age and Generation in the 119th Congress: Somewhat Younger, with Fewer Boomers and More Gen Xers.” Pew Research Center, January 16, 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/01/16/age-and-generation-in-the-119th-co ngress-somewhat-younger-with-fewer-boomers-and-more-gen-xers/. 

Fazy, Jean-Jacques. Des causes de la Révolution française. Geneva: Imprimerie de J.J. Fazy, 1828. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k425368p.texteImage. 

Gramlich, John. “Most Americans Favor Maximum Age Limits for Federal Elected Officials, Supreme Court Justices.” Pew Research Center, October 4, 2023. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/10/04/most-americans-favor-maximum-ag e-limits-for-federal-elected-officials-supreme-court-justices/. 

Inter-Parliamentary Union. “Youth Participation in National Parliaments 2023.” October 2023. https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2023-10/youth-participation-in-nation al-parliaments-2023. 

Statista. “Age of U.S. Presidents at Their First Inauguration.” 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1035542/age-incumbent-us-presidents-first-taking-office/. 

U.S. Census Bureau. “Metro Areas Median Age.” Census.gov, June 2025. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2025/06/metro-areas-median-age.html. 

U.S. Census Bureau. “QuickFacts: Georgia.” Census.gov. https://data.census.gov/profile/Georgia?g=040XX00US13.