Age is an underappreciated factor in the Democratic Party’s internal divisions.
When fault lines emerged during the 2016 presidential primary, young people fell overwhelmingly on the side of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., over Hillary Clinton. While Sanders himself is 76, his support among young people helped him give Clinton a scare heading into the convention. One survey estimated Sanders won more than twice as many young votes as Clinton did over the course of the nominating contest.
In a Wednesday analysis of the party’s age problem, Axios noted the politicians perceived as Democratic “leaders” have an average age of over 70. “A recent CNN poll found that five of the six people voters view as the leaders of the Dem Party average 71 years old (Sanders, Clinton, Schumer, Warren, Biden),” the report said.
Among those five Democrats, only Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts are still in their late sixties.
Axios also observed that “[f]our Democratic Reps. are more than twice the average age of their constituents: Rep. John Conyers (Mich.), 88; Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas), 81; Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (Calif.), 76; Rep. Jose Serrano (N.Y.), 74.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who is 77, has refused to step down from her post. In October, top Democratic House member Linda Sanchez of California argued “it’s time to pass a torch to a new generation of leaders,” in an interview during which she also called for House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn, D-S.C., to step down. Both Hoyer and Clyburn, like Pelosi, are approaching 80.
Younger left-leaning voters are suspicious of the political establishment, and that includes the establishment of their own party. To appear united ahead of the 2018 and 2020 election cycles, Democrats will need to satisfy strong anti-establishment forces within their ranks. Watch for Democrats to elevate younger leaders — think along the lines of California Sen. Kamala Harris — even if people like Pelosi and Biden and Warren cling to their power or seek even more of it. But even that may not be enough to dispel their age problem if the major players remain of the same generation.
