The youngest and oldest candidates in the history of US elections

During the campaign for the 2024 US presidential election, the respective ages of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump became a major concern for voters.

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Biden, likely in response to that unease, opted to pull out of the race and allow Vice President Kamala Harris to accept the Democratic nomination. Had he remained in the presidential race and won, Biden would have started his second term at 82 years old and ended it at 86.

Meanwhile former President Trump has remained firmly in contention, but has also seem questions raised about his age. Only three years younger than Biden, Trump would become the oldest president in the history of the United States if he is successful.

Trump could break record for oldest president

In 2020 Biden became the 46th president of the United States. He took office at the age of 78, making him the oldest candidate ever elected president. Two years later, he became the only president to celebrate his 80th birthday while in office.

After dropping out of this year's presidential race, Trump, at 78, is the oldest candidate in U.S. history. If he wins, he would be the oldest president. If he loses to Harris, that title would still belong to Biden.

Who is the youngest US presidential candidate?

The Constitution stipulates that candidates must be born in the United States and must be at least 35 years of age to become president. However, Americans have only elected nine presidents under the age of 50.

As for presidential candidates, William Jennings Bryan became the youngest major party presidential candidate in US history when he accepted the Democratic nomination at the age of just 36. Bryan ran for the Democrats in 1896 but was defeated by William McKinley, who became the 25th president and the third to be assassinated.

Ahead of the 2024 election businessman Vivek Ramaswamy sought the Republican nomination at age 38 but dropped out of the race after the Iowa primary.

The youngest and oldest presidents in US history

The youngest person to be elected president of the United States is Theodore Roosevelt, who was 42 years, 10 months old at the time of his inauguration. He is followed by John F. Kennedy (43 years old) Bill Clinton (46), Ulysses S. Grant (46) and Barack Obama (47).

As mentioned, President Biden is the oldest president in the country’s history, having assumed office at the age of 78. Second place is held by Trump, who was 70 when he took office as the 45th president in January 2017.

The third oldest president of the American Union is Ronald Reagan. He was 69 years when he took office. He is followed by William Henry Harrison, who became the ninth president at 68 years and James Buchanan, who was 65 when he took office in 1857.