Comedians like to joke that Congress is a retirement home, but it’s coming into sharper focus just as Democrats cannot afford to lose any more members.
The Democratic Party has been facing an identity crisis ever since the 2024 election, when it lost the White House, Senate, and House.
But the last eight lawmakers to die have all been Democrats, and that tragic statistic is having a very real effect on the balance of Congress.
Questions have persisted surrounding Joe Biden’s age and abilities in his final years in office after his dramatic exit from the presidential race.
While the age dilemma is not exclusive to Democrats, the party’s broader age issue is front and center and something they’re being forced to reckon with as they look to move forward.
Congress was dealt a tragic blow with the death of Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly last week.
The loss of the longtime Virginia congressman was the latest in a series of Democrats dying in office. Connelly was one of three House Democrats to have passed away in less than three months.
As well as the last eight lawmakers to die in office being Democrats, of the ten oldest representatives now in Congress, seven are Democrats, ranging from ages 82 to 86.
While three stepped down from party leadership, none have indicated plans to retire.
The loss of Connelly, 75, last week after a battle with cancer stood out because it highlighted just how slim the House Republican majority is.
House Republicans passed their “big, beautiful bill” last Thursday by just one vote, 215 to 214. Two Republicans who would have voted for it missed the vote, but had Democrats not had vacant seats, there could have been a tie.
“My guess is that even if the Democrats had been at full strength in the House, Republicans would have been able to pass their tax bill anyway,” said Kyle Kondik from the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
“However, the House was pretty close to being 218-217 Democratic, and in that scenario, Democrats might have lost a House majority mid-Congress because of deaths in office,” he noted.
The three vacancies in the House are all Democrats, putting the party at a further disadvantage as it seeks to slow the steady march of Donald Trump’s agenda.
In March, two Democratic members died just over a week apart. Texas Rep. Sylvester Turner passed away on March 5 at the age of 70. Longtime Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva passed away March 13 after a battle with lung cancer at 77.
But the special election to fill Arizona’s open seat won’t take place until September. The special election to fill the vacant Texas seat isn’t happening until November, giving Republicans an additional advantage for several months.
The special election date to fill Connolly’s seat in Virginia has not yet been set.
It’s hard to get an overwhelming majority of Americans to agree on anything anymore, but it isn’t any wonder the vast majority – 79 percent– favor age limits for elected officials in Washington, Pew found.
Democrats dying in office was an issue for the party last year, too. All three members who passed away were members of the Democratic Party.
Rep. Bill Pascrell passed away last August at the age of 87. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee passed away last July at the age of 74, and Rep. Donald Payne Jr. tragically died of a heart attack at 65 last April.
In September 2023, Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away at 90 amid ongoing questions about her health and ability to serve the remainder of her term.
In November 2022, Virginia Rep. Donald McEachin died at 61 after a battle with cancer, just weeks after he was reelected to a fourth term.
The median age of the 119th Congress is 57.5 years, according to Pew Research, down from 57.9 in the last Congress, but it’s still among one of the oldest in history.
Senator Chuck Grassley is the oldest member of Congress at 91, and he was just re-elected in 2022. Jon Stewart likened the Senate to an assisted living facility in 2023.
As Democrats set their sights on the 2026 midterms, there’s a growing rift over how the party should handle younger Democrats daring to challenge the old guard.
DNC Vice Chair David Hogg has been under fire for his organization announcing a $20 million investment last month for young progressive candidates to primary Democrats they believe are “asleep at the wheel” in the age of Trump.
Even as the age feud plays out, some Democrats have taken it upon themselves to bow out of running for reelection. Senators Dick Durbin, 80, and Jeanne Shaheen, 78, are two members of the upper chamber who said they won’t seek re-election in 2026 paving they way for new blood.
More recently, 80-year-old Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois announced earlier this month that she too would not seek re-election as she faced a primary challenge, stating it was time for her to “pass the baton” in the safe blue district.
It comes as the 435-seat House has been almost evenly divided in recent years, with majorities of 222, 222, and 220 in the last three elections.
As Kondik pointed out, it is possible that 2026 could produce another tiny majority.
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