I've wondered the same. It seems GenX just doesn't have much interest in it. It's also a much smaller generation than those surrounding it, so just by pure mathematics, is less likely to fill as many positions.
I think it has a LOT more to do with the generation prior (boomers) being so large which has enabled them to hang on for a REALLY long time.
Presidential birthdates:
- 1917, May 29 JFK - JFK served 1961-1963 and died in office. He spoke in his famous inaugural of a "new generation of Americans, born in the 20th century". All prior Presidents were born prior to 1900
- 1908, August 27 - LBJ served 1963-1969 and died 1/22/73 (two days after Nixon's second inaugural) at 64
- 1913, January 9 - Nixon served 1969-1974 and died 4/22/94 at 81
- 1913, July 14 - Ford served 1974-1977 and died 12/26/06 at 93 - Only person to serve as President who was NEVER elected either President or Vice President
- 1924, October 1 - Carter served 1977-1981 and died 12/29/24 at 100
- 1911, February 6 - Reagan served 1981-1989 and died 6/5/2004 at 93
- 1924, June 12 - Bush I served 1989-1993 and died 11/30/18 at 94
- 1946, August 19 - Clinton served 1993-2001 and is alive at 78
- 1946, July 6 - Bush II served 2001-2009 and is alive at 78
- 1961, August 4 - Obama served 2009-2017 and is alive at 63
- 1946, June 14 - Trump served 2017-2021 and 2025 and is alive at 78
- 1942, November 20 - Biden served 2021-2025 and is alive at 82
Biden is almost a boomer having been born during the war rather than after it like the boomers. Obama is a boomer but near the tail end of that group. It is interesting that Clinton, Bush II, and Trump were all born within just over two months of one-another in the summer of 1946. They are all early boomers as the baby boom is 1946-1964.
Age at election:
- 43 JFK in 1960; loser Nixon was 47
- 56 LBJ in 1964; loser Goldwater was 55
- 55 Nixon in 1968; loser Humphrey was 57
- 59 Nixon in 1972; loser McGovern was 50
- 53 Carter in 1976; loser Ford was 63
- 69 Reagan in 1980; loser Carter was 57
- 73 Reagan in 1984; loser Mondale was 56
- 64 Bush I in 1988; loser Dukakis was 55
- 46 Clinton in 1992; loser Bush I was 68
- 50 Clinton in 1996; loser Dole was 73
- 54 Bush II in 2000; loser Gore was 52
- 58 Bush II in 2004; loser Kerry was 59
- 47 Obama in 2008; loser McCain was 72
- 51 Obama in 2012; loser Romney was 65
- 70 Trump in 2016; loser Clinton was 69
- 77 Biden in 2020; loser Trump was 74
- 78 Trump in 2024; loser Harris was 60 although the elected nominee was the 81 year old Biden
Note that Gore (48), Kerry (43), Romney (47), and H Clinton (47) were also born right near the beginning of the baby boom. Harris (64) is a tail-end Boomer like Obama. Vance (84) skips GenX altogether.
From 1992-2024 6 of 9 POTUS elections were won by a man born in 1946 and another was won by a man born in 1942 so 7 of 9 were won by either early boomers or late pre-boomers.
Looking forward, there does seem to be a pretty strong chance that GenX will be skipped. Wiki defines GenX as 1965-1980 so by the time of the 2028 election they will be:
- 63 for those born in 1965
- 48 for those born in 1980
That is prime Presidential age but we may see a late boomer (like Harris) or a Millenial (like Vance).
Vance seems like a HEAVY favorite to be the Republican nominee. Trump is 78 and has already been the victim of multiple assassination attempts. Even ignoring the assassination attempts and the stress of being POTUS, the chance of a random 78 year old man dying within the next 3.5 years is obviously not trivial. Thus, there is an appreciable chance that Vance will be running as the incumbent in 2028.
On the Democratic side:
- Harris (64) is a Boomer
- Newsom (67) is GenX
- Shapiro (73) is GenX
