Americans Haven’t Elected a President Younger Than 43. Does 38-Year-Old Vivek Ramaswamy Stand a Chance?
LACONIA, N.H.—The 38-year-old Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy stood on stage at a recent campaign event here and read the audience a text message that he said came from a billionaire GOP mega donor. “Your youth and lack of experience will become an even bigger issue when you get foreign policy wrong," the donor told Ramaswamy, according to the candidate’s retelling. “It makes people question whether you should be in charge of the nuclear codes." Ramaswamy is among the youngest candidates ever to run for president, and he’s doing it in an election where both parties’ leading contenders would be the oldest nominees in U.S.
history. The distinction has both helped him stand out in a crowded GOP field and emerged as a liability at a time when voters and Republican party leaders are giving his candidacy more scrutiny. The critique of inexperience is familiar to the long list of young contenders who have challenged establishment orthodoxy in recent presidential elections.
Pete Buttigieg was 37 when he briefly shined as the Democratic candidate whose political resume stopped at mayor of tiny South Bend, Ind. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, each 45 years old when they announced their presidential bids, were dismissed at various moments as too young and inexperienced. No one under 43 has ever been elected U.S.
president, with John F. Kennedy being the youngest to win office. Youthful contenders who fall short sometimes get to the White House years later.
Joe Biden was 44 years old the first time he ran for president. He competed in a field that included a 39-year-old Al Gore, who went on to become Clinton’s vice president at age 44. Ramaswamy has climbed to fourth place in a recent Wall Street Journal poll with 5%
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