Last week, much attention was focused on the presidential debate. The two oldest major party presidential candidates At a time in our history, I took time off and spent time with some of the political stars of tomorrow, and I was inspired and convinced of the value of nurturing talent and paving the way for the next generation of political leaders.
I was with about 100 elected officials under the age of 35 from all levels of government who had gathered in Washington for a national conference hosted by my organization.
This group of young millennials and older Gen Zers represents an underreported phenomenon in American politics: the increasing rate at which young people are running for office. In fact, a recent Tufts University study found that the percentage of Americans ages 18-25 seeking public office has increased over the past decade, with more than 20% of that age group now running for public office. right Run away if you can (more on this later).
Interest is especially strong among young people of color: The same survey found that young black Americans are more likely to run for office than older black Americans, and that “not only do black young people feel more qualified to run for office than previous generations, but they are also more likely to be interested in running than white young people.” The same was true for young Latinos.
Young people are also turning out to vote in greater numbers: 50% of Americans ages 18-29 voted in the 2020 election, up 11% from the last presidential election year in 2016.
These young leaders and voters care deeply about issues like climate change, reproductive freedom, and police reform. And for them, it’s personal: One 26-year-old House candidate said he felt “betrayed” by older generations’ failure to solve big, obvious problems.
I get it. Our elected leaders have known about climate change for a long time, but now it’s a life-threatening crisis. They knew about police violence. They knew about gun violence. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) may not have grown up with mass shooter drills in school. But he knew that schools had to start training them, and everyone did.
The young public servants I spoke to were eager to solve the problems they inherited. Austin Davis, 34, now the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, began his political career motivated by gun violence. Michael Tubbs, 33, a former mayor of Stockton, California, and an anti-poverty activist, was motivated by poverty. Zainab Mohammed, 27, a Minnesota senator, was motivated by the killing of George Floyd.
Anna Eskamani, 34, now a Florida congresswoman, came here out of a desire to improve the lives of immigrant families like hers. “I care deeply about economic mobility and that every family has a chance to succeed,” she said.
I really admire the dedication of these young leaders, and we need more of them.
So what would motivate them to run? When asked, the young people said that money and encouragement would go a long way.
There are many reasons why campaign finance reform is necessary, but one big one is that we need to ensure that ordinary working people, including young candidates, have the ability to run for office.
Campaign costs are especially hard on younger candidates, many of whom have fewer resources to begin with and are more likely to have to “fundraise” if they want to compete. Public funding programs for small donors, such as those now in place in more than a dozen states, could help.
Raising salaries for local offices, where younger candidates often get their start, would be just as effective.
Giving young people the encouragement they need to run can be just as effective. “They’ll tell you to wait your turn,” warns Zainab Mohammed. We have to counter that narrative.
Young people who choose to run for office talk about helping other young people channel their passion and enthusiasm, not just by protesting for causes they care about, but helping them understand that there are options out there where they can make a difference by getting into “rooms where things happen,” as the song says — options like being elected to office or serving on boards and committees.
The bottom line is that young people who are willing to run for public office are making a choice about our imperfect system and our imperfect democracy: not to tear it down, not to deny its flaws, but to work within it to improve it.
We should respect that choice and look forward to the election of our first millennial president.
Svante Myrick is president of People For the American Way.
