You’ve often heard a professional athlete or coach answer a question about retirement by saying something to the effect of “I’ll know when it is time.”
The reality is, the individual athlete is typically the last one to know when it is time because, in their mind, they believe they can still perform at the same level at 44 years old that they could at 24 years old. We all remember and would like to forget Joe Namath in a Los Angeles Rams uniform. Or Michael Jordan playing for the Washington Wizards. Even Babe Ruth had a short stint with the Boston Braves at the end of his career.
Like athletes, politicians can struggle to identify the right time to step away from the game and hand the reins to the next generation of leaders to make decisions that will shape our future.
Recently, retired US Senator and former Governor Joe Manchin was asked by WV News about the potential 2028 gubernatorial run. The question came on the heels of US Senator Jim Justice’s interview on Talkline in which he confirmed he is considering challenging Gov. Patrick Morrisey in 2028.
Manchin, who always keeps his options open, did not rule out running for his old job again but acknowledged it may be time for the next generation to step up.
“We got enough old-timers who have been around long enough,” Manchin told WV News. “New talent. We should be in a support role, helping people.”
Manchin’s comments bring up the age-old question about age in politics.
Our politics over the last decade have skewed older. The average age for members of the US House of Representatives has climbed to 58, and the average age in the Senate is 64, with dozens of lawmakers in their 80s. President Trump turned 80 this year. Joe Biden was 82 when he left office.
If Jim Justice were to be elected governor again in 2028, he would be 77 and the oldest man to win the job, three years older than Cecil Underwood, who was 74 when he took office in 1997. Underwood also holds the distinction of being the youngest man to hold the office, just 34 years old when he took the oath of office the first time in 1957.
Conversely, Gov. Morrisey, the first Gen X governor, would be 61 years old if re-elected.
That’s not to say that Justice or anyone else is “too old” for the job. There are advantages that come with age, such as experience and wisdom that are only accumulated through lived experiences. Additionally, established politicians and incumbents have statewide name recognition and the coffers that are necessary for a successful campaign.
There will always be a younger generation waiting for its opportunity to assume leadership roles in business and politics, and despite the hurdles newcomers face, their time will come.
In sports, each year there is an incoming class of recruits or new crop of rookies who believe their time is now. Sometimes those incoming freshmen and rookies simply outperform the older players and force programs and organizations to make tough decisions.
The same can happen in politics, where voters act as the coach or general manager making that decision.
But don’t count out the wily veterans who have been in the game for years. There’s a reason they are around for as long as they have been.
More often than not, it’s because they know how to win.