Following Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin’s announcement that he will not be seeking re-election after almost four decades in Congress, it appears that the so-called “Biden effect” contributes to the duration of Congress.
After a horrible debate performance against Trump in 2024, President Joe Biden was politically ousted and replaced with Kamala Harris, his deputy who was decades younger.
Many senators, primarily Democrats and those above the mandatory retirement age in the private sector, have indicated their plans to retire since then.
Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University, described it as “fallout from the ‘Biden Effect.'” “It contaminated old Democrats.”
The following members of Congress will be leaving in 2025: Durbin (age 80), Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (d. New Hampshire), Tina Smith (d. Wisconsin), Gary Peters (d. Michigan) (66), and Mitch McConnell (r. Kentucky) (83).
Former Democrats from the 2024 cycle, including 81-year-old Maryland senator Benjamin Cardin, 78-year-old Delaware senator Tom Carper, 74-year-old Michigan senator Debbie Stabenow, and 77-year-old West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, all announced their resignations before Biden’s notorious debate.
Twenty years his junior, the rising star Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, declared her candidacy soon after Durbin announced his retirement, and she is already vying for his seat.
Of the current members of Congress, 74-year-old Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) may face a challenging primary in 2028, competing with the likes of 35-year-old progressive superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The name of Ocasio-Cortez resurfaced as a youthful challenger to Schumer after the latter encountered strong criticism from inside his own party for endorsing the GOP’s budget plan earlier this month.
A Siena College study found that after the funding bill fiasco, Schumer plummeted ten points in the Empire State, his lowest polling in 20 years.
Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, has a positive rating of 47–33 in New York, an increase of almost 10 points compared to 2021.
A drive to recruit and fund primary opponents for senior Democratic incumbents was started by DNC vice chair David Hogg, reinitiating a push for older Democrats to step down.
There is an unspoken law in modern party politics that states: if you gain a seat, you own it forever. Nobody who matters in your party will dare to question you. The 25-year-old Hogg made the statement on his campaign website, Leaders We Deserve, as to the need to change that culture.
One unusual example of a politician whose retirement has not been brought up because to the “Biden effect” or any other phenomena is Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the oldest member of Congress at 91 years of age.
On the other side, it seemed that the same was true for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who was compared to Joe Biden on a level of enthusiasm and intelligence during the campaign despite being older than Biden.
Sanders has hinted at the possibility of running for reelection in 2030, when he will turn 89 years old, as reported by the Burlington Free Press. There is a file for the 2030 sweeps that lists “Friends of Bernie Sanders” already.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who is nearly 20 years younger than McConnell, has taken over as leader of the Republican Party. McConnell stepped down from his position.
Staff members subsequently claimed McConnell was alright when he seemed to freeze up while speaking at a press appearance in 2024. He has also declared his intention to resign from the Senate after serving for forty years.
To succeed the 80-year-old Republican, two newcomers entered the race: 51-year-old Rep. Andy Barr and 39-year-old former Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron.
Senator James Risch (R-Idaho), who has not been named among the oldest incumbent senators, will be eighty-two years old when he runs for re-election in 2026. Senator from the Gem State was contacted by AWN Digital for a remark.
In contrast, re-election is becoming an increasingly daunting proposition for even the most youthful Democratic senators.
The state that was once a safe haven for Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is now a battleground for Republicans.
Although no one has officially announced their campaign, several sources have pegged Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, Gov. Brian Kemp, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (who would supposedly have Trump’s support), and Rep. Greene as strong possible opponents.
