“Age is just a number,” we often hear – yet these days, it seems unavoidably relevant in politics. Growing numbers of Americans are concerned President Joe Biden’s age has caught up with him such that, when he’s on the ballot again at 82 years old, he’ll be disqualified.

On the opposite end of the age spectrum, outgoing Denver Public Schools board member Tay Anderson, who turns 25 next month, asks us to excuse his numerous transgressions based on his youth – while he runs for state representative.

This raises the question: should we consider the age of a candidate seeking public office?

A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found 68% of Americans say Biden is too old for another term. This is consistent with a December 2022 Suffolk University/USA Today survey of registered voters, which found 75% say their “ideal president” would be younger than 65. Only 15% responded age didn’t matter.

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It’s curious, though, how noticeable the difference is in how Americans view Biden compared with Donald Trump. The ABC poll found only 44% believe Trump (who’s only four years younger than Biden) is too old – reportedly because the public views Trump more than Biden as “having the mental sharpness and the physical health it takes to serve effectively as president.”

Per ABC News: “Nearly half of Democrats – 48% – say Biden is too old for another term; about as many say the same about Trump. Many more independents – 75% – say this about Biden, versus 51% for Trump. Among Republicans, 79% see Biden as too old; just 28% say this of Trump.”

Trump’s thinking is nonlinear, often with erratic speech, somehow swiftly moving from Point A to unrelated Point E. Yet he exudes confidence and quick-thinking. Conversely, Biden tends to mumble, lose his train of thought and forget things. This disparity, coupled with polling data, suggests though age raises general concerns for candidates older than 75, mental acuity – or the public’s perception of it – holds greater importance. At a certain point, age may indicate decline.

For young candidates, though, it’s a matter of maturity. Anderson withdrew last week from his school board reelection to pursue state House District 8. The seat is currently held by his longtime mentor, failed Denver mayoral candidate Leslie Herod, who is term limited.

Anderson couches this move as a way to “take the progress that we’ve made at DPS to the state level.” Yet with mere 9% support for reelection, significant fundraising woes and desertion by his once-fervent backers – which I demonstrated in Friday’s Denver Gazette – Anderson had no choice but to withdraw. Now, facing his own unseriousness and the insurmountable hurdles for a successful reelection campaign, he’s scrambling to save face.

Anderson was 21 when he was first elected to Denver’s school board. He may be young, but he already carries more political baggage and personal skeletons in his closet than a political graveyard.

A months-long DPS investigation in 2021 revealed Anderson aggressively pursued illicit relationships with multiple underage high school girls – while a school board member and candidate. It found Anderson used social media to intimidate investigation witnesses at least twice, among other disturbing conclusions. The 96-page report led his colleagues to unprecedentedly censure him. He’s attempted to discredit the investigation twice through the courts, only to be rebuked by judges both times.

Anderson has courted countless controversies – generating unprecedented dysfunction on the DPS board since taking office in 2019 – and he has an obsession with playing the victim card. Yet Anderson wants us to chalk it all up to mere “mistakes that I’ve made as a young person,” and “remember that I’m in my 20s.”

Using your age to deflect criticism for your actions is the mark of immaturity. If you cannot accept responsibility and accountability for your personal misdeeds, stay out of elected office.

“Tay is making a great argument to the voters to never elect someone who’s in their early 20s,” Listener Mark in Weld County texted my 710KNUS radio show. If his age is the excuse, why vote for anyone that age?”

Bingo. Anderson’s self-defense undercuts his own case for the state legislature.

When I was up-and-coming in Colorado media and politics in my 20s, I never could have imagined undermining myself by using my age as an excuse. Instead, I strove to be taken seriously, hoping age wouldn’t be counted against me.

In January 2016, when I was barely 25, I ran for and lost a vacancy committee bid for House District 37. I was one of six candidates defeated by former state Rep. Cole Wist. With my relatively strong political experience and knowledge for someone my age, I cited the late Bill Armstrong and former Congressman Bob Schaffer to counter concerns about young legislators. Yet in the end, my age hampered my case.

In retrospect, though I’m personally grateful I lost (and have no desire ever to run for office again), I now see valid reasons for doubting my age. Anderson exemplifies why.

Certainly, there are many super-sharp 80-year-olds. There are many super-mature 25-year-olds. Age alone isn’t enough to disqualify someone from public office. Yet, as Joe Biden and Tay Anderson prove, age does give good cause to closely examine a candidate’s fitness for the office they seek.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and host of “The Jimmy Sengenberger Show” Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on News/Talk 710 KNUS. Reach Jimmy online at JimmySengenberger.com or on Twitter @SengCenter.