Summary
Rep. Annie Kuster, a 68-year-old Democrat from New Hampshire, retiring after 12 years in Congress, cites a desire to “set a better example” and create space for younger leaders.
Her decision comes amid growing public concern about aging politicians, with about a quarter of lawmakers over 70. Kuster’s successor will be Maggie Goodlander, 38.
Democrats are increasingly elevating younger leaders following setbacks in 2024, which some attribute to the perception of aging leadership, including President Biden’s controversial reelection bid.
Calls for age limits remain popular but face significant legislative hurdles.
The idea is that we choose every election.
We could have more choices if we replaced First past the post voting by passing state level electoral reform.
But then the Democrats would have to actually compete for yiur vote so that’s a hard pass.
We choose the person we don’t choose the terms.
We most often don’t choose the person either. The parties usually decide for us who is even allowed to run.
It’s for the best, otherwise someone might run as a Democrat that doesn’t support their policies. /$
Which you choose when you vote in the primaries.
So, about that democratic presidential primary…
Biden won it. I don’t think an incumbent president has ever lost their primary when running for re-election, at least not in modern times when they actually had primaries that people could vote in. It’s on Biden for deciding to run again.
The parties get to decide who can run in the primaries
I used to think a candidate had to at least be a member of a party to run in its primaries, but Bernie corrected my misunderstanding.
Bernie joined the party. He had to in order to run as a Democrat. He later became independent again.
I kept hearing conflicting stories on whether he actually joined the party or only promised to become a Democrat if he won the candidacy.
Fortunately it’s a matter of public record and you don’t need to listen to stories.