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American Ascent

Briefing

Reviewed November 5, 2026

American Ascent

American Ascent is cultivating a new generation of statesmen that will end American decline and lead America’s ascent.

Four figures on Congress’s age

39.4
The median age of Americans in July 20251
9th
The 120th Congress’s rank among the oldest in U.S. history, by average age on its first day2
93%
Of members of the 120th Congress who are older than the median American3
79%
Of Americans who support a maximum age limit for elected officials in Washington: 82% of Republicans, 76% of Democrats4

What is published

What American Ascent publishes, with its count and the date it was reviewed
PublishedContentsReviewed
2028 House field168 membersReviewed November 5, 2026
2028 Senate races35 racesReviewed November 5, 2026
2028 governor races11 racesReviewed November 5, 2026
One-page briefs369 briefs, one for every official above and every re-elected House member
MethodHow to read the maps: what each color, label and figure means

How to reach American Ascent

Write to the American Ascent team through the contact form: www.americanascent.org/contact. People interested in becoming a fellow, donors and anyone else write there, and the message goes to the team.

Sources

  1. 1U.S. Census Bureau, “Populations in All Age Groups Growing in the South, Driven by Outlying Counties in Metro Areas,” Vintage 2025 population estimates, release CB26-105, June 25, 2026: “The U.S. median age was 39.4 in July 2025.” https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/vintage-2025-pop-estimates.html
  2. 2Average age on each Congress’s first day, House and Senate together, states only, from the congress-legislators dataset’s historical and current legislators, by the method of NBC News, “The incoming 2025 Congress is the third oldest in U.S. history,” January 3, 2025 (the 119th began at 58.8, the third oldest). The 120th Congress is counted from its members-elect (source 3): an average of 57.7, the ninth oldest of the 120 since 1789. https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/congress-age-2025-third-oldest-us-history-rcna185742
  3. 3Ages of the 434 House members-elect and 100 senators of the 120th Congress, counted to January 3, 2027, its first day: November 3, 2026 winners as called by NBC News, CNN and the Associated Press by November 5, 2026, and the leader in the 35 races still being counted; birthdays from the Congressional Directory, the congress-legislators dataset and the sources in data/elections-2026/. A birth month, a birth year or a dated report of age counts at the middle of the span it allows. One member-elect has no birth date on file and is not counted. Delegates are not included. https://github.com/unitedstates/congress-legislators
  4. 4Pew Research Center, “Americans’ Dismal Views of the Nation’s Politics,” September 19, 2023: “Putting a maximum age limit in place for elected officials in Washington, D.C.” Republicans and Democrats include those who lean to each party; 79% is Pew’s figure for all adults. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/09/19/how-americans-view-proposals-to-change-the-political-system/