Serving that long in government to an elected position is ridiculous. I's a recipe for corruption and cronyism.

But he was Young!

The longest-serving member of Congress, Young had served as the representative for Alaska since 1973 when he won a special election held in the wake of the disappearance of incumbent Democrat Nick Begich. Begich won the 1972 election despite having disappeared in a plane crash weeks earlier, but was declared dead later that year.