2020 Update – Age's role in the Democratic primary process
Bottom Line: The Democratic field of candidates is crowded.Actually, that’s an understatement. From 37 to 77 the Democrats cover the age spectrum. While Democrats enthusiastically nominated Barack Obama in his 40’s, their preferred age for a candidate is a 50 – something. This according to the Pew Research Center.What does that mean in the context of the current field of candidates?
Ironically enough the top three Democratic candidates in current polling, Biden, Sanders and Buttigieg all fall outside of that category. Quite considerably actually as Biden and Sanders are the two oldest candidates in the field and Mayor Pete is the first thirty something to mount a credible campaign since the 1800’s. Who does that leave as the lead candidate to fit the preferred age for Democrats?
Kamala Harris. And behind her Corey Booker. AKA Spartacus. It’s too early to read too much into this kind of contextual stuff but keep in mind that most Democrats aren’t really that engaged in vetting candidates at this point and Biden and Sanders benefit from the highest name recognition. It’s kind of like Jeb Bush leading until voters began to pay attention to the process around the start of the debates four years ago. Now here’s the thing about playing the age game. Not only do Harris and Booker fall in the age range most Democrats prefer for their next candidate when asked, they aren’t old white men which any objective observer of Democratic politics would know is about the least preferred profile.
It’s worth watching as the festivities warm up. If Harris and Booker run solid campaigns when it matters and debate well in the meantime – they may have more opportunity than most are otherwise suggesting at the moment.