New year, old Congress
The 119th Congress by the ages (there's still only one Gen Zer... sigh), 'Why America Needs to Party More,' Substacks to follow in 2025 — and a survey for you!
It’s no secret that Congress is old. But how old is it… really?
Of all 535 members of the Congress, just 11 are currently 35-years-old or younger. That’s a whopping 2% 😳. And there’s still just one Gen Z member of Congress, Maxwell Frost (FL-10), who is 27-years-old.
The Center for Youth Political Participation at Rutgers’ Eagleton Institute of Politics put together a roundup of the 119th Congress by age. The data includes ages as of Election Day. They found that:
The median age of Representatives is 58.63 years
The youngest Representative was born in 1997
The oldest Representative was born in 1936
68 Representatives are Millennials
That means, according to an NBC News’ analysis, that this is the 3rd oldest Congress in history.
The youngest members of Congress are:
Maxwell Frost, 27, D, FL-10
Addison McDowell, 30, R, NC-06
Brandon Gill, 30, R, TX-26
Yassamin Ansari, 32, D, AZ-03
Abraham Hamadeh, 33, R, AZ-08
Sarah McBride, 34, D, DE
Rob Bresnahan, 34, R, PA-08
Anna Paulina Luna, 35, R, FL-13
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, 35, D, NY-14
Greg Casar, 35, D, TX-35
Sara Jacobs, 35, D, CA-51
For a generation that is increasingly distrusting of traditional institutions (including of course the federal government), this is deeply problematic. One of the top concerns I’ve heard from young people across the country over the past few years is that it feels like politicians are out of touch with their daily lives and problems, because well, they haven’t shared the same life experiences or grown up in the same decade to co-commiserate (or co-celebrate) over the same life events. As a Social Sphere/Run For Something poll from last year showed, young people are hungry for leaders that look like and sound like them.
According to the poll, which I wrote about for Teen Vogue, 61% of young Democrats in battleground states said they are more likely to turn out if there’s also a young, progressive candidate running down-ballot. While that poll was specific to young Democrats, I know for certain that many young Republicans feel the same.
So what do we do about this moving forward? Groups like the progressive Run For Something and the conservative Run GenZ are building benches of young leaders eager to run for state and local offices. And once young leaders are elected to state legislatures, Future Caucus creates a home for them to work across the aisle. These organizations are a crucial part of the puzzle in thinking about how to boost youth representation in government.
We can talk all we want about the need for more young people in office (and it’s imperative that we’re all having conversations with young people about running so that they see it as a viable career path). But according to many young people I’ve spoken with who have considered running, there are steep barriers to doing so. First, many local offices don’t pay well, which can be a massive hurdle for a young person trying to stay afloat financially and start a family. And there are personal risks that come with running for office and putting oneself (and perhaps their family) in the public eye during such a charged (and at times violent) political era. These are just a couple of the reasons they may shy away from throwing their hat in the ring. If we really want to increase the number of young people serving in elected offices, we must work aggressively to confront these challenges head on.
Noteworthy reads of the week
America Needs to Party More, Ellen Cushing for The Atlantic
What Happens When a Whole Generation Never Grows Up?, Rachel Wolfe for The Wall Street Journal
2025 Marks The Start Of A New Generation. Here's What To Know About 'Gen Beta.', Kimberley Richards for HuffPost
Substacks to follow in 2025
As independent media grows in size and scale, here are some of my favorite writers and newsletters on Substack:
, After School for more on Gen Z trends and culture across industries
, American Storylines for polling based commentary about American lives
Young Men’s Research Initiative for data and insights on young men and their politics
, The Age of Disruption/Six Chart Sunday for weekly charts that define today’s society
, Link In Bio for insights and tips on social trends and strategies for brands and businesses
, Feed Me for a daily glimpse into the current zeitgeist
- /Andreas Sandre, Content Is Not King for understanding the role of content in the digital world
ZIVVY News for news geared toward Gen Z
Laura Brill, The Civics Center for data on youth voter registration and what teens want
Reader Survey 📚
As The Up and Up evolves, I'm eager for your feedback. What are you looking for more of in 2025? What can you live without? Who should I interview next?
Looking forward to hearing from you — and thankful for your readership.
Thank you for the mention Rachel!