On Nov. 7, 1972, Joe Biden was elected to the senate just a few weeks shy of his 30th birthday, making him one of the youngest politicians to ever serve in the Senate. Nearly a half a century later, Biden is running to be be the oldest president ever. His political career has spanned so long that eight of his rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination were not even born when he was first elected to the Senate, and several others were merely children. Though Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is even older, he didn’t win elective office until 1980, when he became mayor of Burlington, Vt.
Below is a list of all of Biden’s 19 rivals for the Democratic nomination, along with their birthdates, per Wikipedia, and their age at the time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate.
South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Birthdate: January 19, 1982
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: Not Yet Born
Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro
Birthdate: September 16, 1974
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: Not Yet Born
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii
Birthdate: April 12, 1981
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: Not Yet Born
Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam
Birthdate: June 7, 1974
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: Not Yet Born
Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts
Birthdate: Oct. 24, 1978
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: Not Yet Born
Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio
Birthdate: July 16, 1973
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: Not Yet Born
Rep. Eric Swalwell of California
Birthdate: Nov. 16, 1980
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: Not Yet Born
Businessman Andrew Yang
Birthdate: Jan. 13, 1975
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: Not Yet Born
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke
Birthdate: Sept. 26, 1972
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: 6 weeks old
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey
Birthdate: April 27, 1969
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: 3
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
Birthdate: Dec. 9, 1966
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: 5
Sen. Kamala Harris of California
Birthdate: Oct. 20, 1964
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: 8
Former Rep. John Delaney
Birthdate: April 16, 1963
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: 9
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Birthdate: May 25, 1960
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: 12
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper
Birthdate: Feb. 7, 1952
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: 20
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee
Birthdate: Feb. 9, 1951
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: 21
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
Birthdate: June 22, 1949
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: 23
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Birthdate: September 8, 1941
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: 31
Self-help author Marianne Williamson
Birthdate: July 8, 1952
Age at time of Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate: 20
