The real reasons there are so few young politicians in the US

Not many US representatives have endured for as long as Hal Rogers, who will go into November's midterm elections seeking his 24th term in the House of Representatives.

The 88-year-old Republican has represented Kentucky's 5th congressional district since 1981, making him the longest serving member of the House of Representatives. He was elected on the same night Ronald Reagan won his first presidential term under the slogan "Let's make America great again", a phrase later revived by Donald Trump.

Among the challengers Rogers beat to win the nomination this year was one 60 years his junior. But Rogers, born in the 1930s, is far from the only senior US politician to have stuck at the job into their 80s.

Others to have done so include US President Donald Trump, 80; Trump's predecessor Joe Biden, who left office at 82; and Nancy Pelosi, who stepped down as the Democratic leader in the House at the same age. Chuck Grassley, 93, is still a senator. He entered politics in 1958, before Alaska and Hawaii were even US states.

The age and health of some politicians has raised widespread concern within both Republican and Democratic circles, however, reigniting questions about whether age limits or health checks should be imposed.

The US is well known for its "gerontocracy", a government ruled by people who are significantly older than most of the adult population.

Source: BBC News World RSS (Open Press / Translated Full Text)