Aging Of The Freshmen

Parties prefer Supreme Court nominees no older than 55, to protect the ideological lean for decades to come. Why doesn't the same logic apply to choosing new U.S. Senators?

In recent times, when Presidents choose Supreme Court Justices they use a pretty narrow age window. Old enough to seem serious and qualified, but young enough to keep the lifetime appointment for decades—to forestall, in short, the opportunity for the other party to fill the seat any time soon.

In practice, this has resulted in a current Supreme Court no…