Gen Z and millennials push into politics
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A growing number of Gen Z and millennial Americans are seeking elected office — campaigning on the issues that matter most to them and their peers.
Why it matters: The 119th Congress is the third oldest in U.S. history, and both of America's most recent presidents set records as the oldest ever inaugurated. As leadership skews older, young candidates from both parties are running to get their voices heard in local, state and federal government.
The big picture: 74 millennials and one Gen Z-er were elected to the 119th Congress in November — making up 16% of the House and 8% of the Senate.
- Members of Gen Z also entered state and local office races.
Case in point: Thousands of young progressives have expressed interest in running for office since Zohran Mamdani's New York City mayoral primary last week.
- Between Tuesday's primary and Friday afternoon, about 2,700 people signed up with Run for Something, an organization that supports young Democrats running for down-ballot office.
- Mamdani's race modeled "what will make young people such compelling candidates in the future," says Amanda Litman, Run for Something co-founder and president. "A real fluency with the internet, a real strong-held value system, the ability to be authentically themselves."
Zoom in: If elected in November, 33-year-old Mamdani would be the youngest among the mayors currently serving in the 50 largest American cities, according to an Axios analysis. He'd also be New York City's second-youngest mayor, after Hugh J. Grant in the late 19th century.
- His campaign — built more for TikTok than TV — resonated with young voters around the city and brought them to the polls.
The other side: Run Gen Z, an organization that backs young conservatives running for office, is galvanizing the next generation of leaders on the right.
- The group has helped politicians like 22-year-old Wyatt Gable, who was elected to North Carolina's House of Representatives in November, and 26-year-old Amber Hulse, who just won a seat in South Dakota's senate.
- Gable told the Washington Post one of his priorities is implementing home economics education for high school students so they can graduate with practical skills, like financial literacy.
The intrigue: Candidate age is becoming an increasingly important issue for American voters.
- 67% of U.S. adults in a February YouGov poll said they believed maximum age limits should be imposed on elected officials. Democratic respondents were more likely than Republicans to support age limits.
Reality check: Americans 62 and older still run for office at much higher rates than 18- to 25-year-olds, Tufts' Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement notes.
- But over the past decade, the number of young candidates appearing on local, state, and federal ballots has steadily increased.
