The real reasons US politicians are getting older

Twenty-seven-year-old Republican Riley Owen is one of the few candidates from Gen Z - aged in their early teens to late 20s - from either party running for Congress on 3 November.Owen is running in a newly created district in Utah that experts say may lean towards the Democrats. He has championed issues including paid maternity leave, restrictions on congressional stock trading and environmental action - all issues that may appeal to Democratic supporters.When he was confirmed as his party's candidate in the state's 1st congressional district, he walked on stage to Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire, and argued that his generation needed to help renew the American Dream.The gerontocracy is "a bipartisan issue", he says. "We've got people who have become career politicians, and they spend their lives in Congress." He says this is indicative of a system that is not delivering for Americans.Owen says the big challenge he faces is the fact that money really talks in US politics. Research suggests campaign donors tend to prefer incumbent candidates.Indeed, the campaign of his rival Ben McAdams - a 51-year-old Democrat who has previously served in Congress - has so far raised much mor...