Four illustrations of prominent female political figures hang in gold frames on a wall behind Cheyenne Hunt as she looks into a camera and tells her 90,000 TikTok followers about the political news of the day − this day it was about newly named House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The four women on the wall behind her − Vice President Kamala Harris, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Georgia politician Stacey Abrams − broke barriers before her. She counts them as inspirations in her pursuit of becoming the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress.
“I look at every single one of them as incredible trailblazers and that’s one of the things they all have in common − a lot of firsts, and a lot of really bold action,” Hunt told USA TODAY. “That’s who I aspire to be as a candidate and as a representative.”
The 26 year old announced her candidacy earlier this year running as a Democrat to challenge incumbent California Republican Rep. Michelle Steel for the U.S. House seat that encompasses parts of Orange and Los Angeles Counties.
Hunt is not the only young candidate running for political office. While she vies for a seat in the U.S. Capitol, other young candidates across the country are trying to win seats on state legislatures or in local races − from town council to school boards.
The rate of 18 to 25 year olds running for political office has increased over the past 10 years and more than 20% of youth say they would consider running for office, according to a 2022 study from Tuft University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
But it’s not coming easily. As young candidates combat what they deem as some of the biggest issues for the next generation – climate change, reproductive rights, gun control, racial equality – they simultaneously face an uphill battle fundraising at a competitive level, being taken seriously and often find themselves juggling multiple jobs to keep an income while campaigning on the side.
“They are not a traditional candidate,” said Juan Ramiro Sarmiento, the national press secretary for Run for Something, a progressive organization that recruits young candidates. “People often think that that’s a lawyer, someone who has been established in their career or comes from a dynasty of political people… We believe we are changing the conversation as to what a typical politician looks like.”
‘Be a voice for a generation’
Hunt was the first in her family to attend college and law school. She now works as a big tech accountability advocate for Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights advocacy group.
She has defended domestic violence survivors as a student attorney, worked with the United Nations on human rights advocacy and served as a law and policy clerk for Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., working with the Senate Judiciary Committee on the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump.
Her goal for running for office is to reflect the voices of a generation of young people who are missing on the federal stage.
“I think I’m a representative of a younger generation that feels deeply betrayed by the inaction of our leadership that’s currently representing us,” she said.
DeNora Getachew, CEO of Do Something, a nonprofit hub for youth activism, said the organization has seen a recent uptick in the number of young people who are seeking elected office, especially young people of color.
“What we’re seeing is that Gen Z… is actually raising their hands in higher numbers to know that they can literally do something to make the world a better place,” Getachew said, adding that young people are incredibly passionate about addressing issues like climate change and protecting their rights when liberties are under attack.
To Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, the Newhouse director of Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, more young people are feeling a sense of urgency to govern rather than sit on the sidelines.
Compared to older generations, like millennials, Gen Z is more inclined to change policies as opposed to starting nonprofit ventures that often replace government services, she said.
“Whenever they (Gen Z) see problems with the government, they’re willing to engage directly with it as opposed to going around it,” she said.
Driven by issues
Joe Vogel currently serves as the youngest member in the Maryland House of Delegates, a seat he won earlier this year at 25 years old after defeating the 16-year incumbent.
Now 26, the Democrat is running to represent the northwest part of the state in Congress.
“It really is one of those pivotal moments when so much change is happening and in such a short period of time,” he said. “The generations that are going to have to deal with the consequences of these decisions often aren’t at the table.”
Despite working as a full-time legislator, Vogel said being a young candidate is not a life of luxury. He drives a “beat-up” Honda CRV to his studio apartment that is filled with a bed, a broken couch from Target and a TV on the floor.
“For me, even with the challenges and the discomfort at times, my motivation comes from the ability to really be able to make a difference at this point in time,” he said.
There are certain issues that are of top concern for young people, Vogel said, including gun violence, the mental health crisis and climate change.
Vogel, as well as Hunt, both received endorsements from Voters of Tomorrow, a Gen Z-led progressive activist group for youth.
Jack Lobel, national press secretary for the organization, said Gen Z is overwhelmingly supportive of abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, common sense gun violence prevention measures and climate action. After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, Voters of Tomorrow saw a significant increase in applications to join their organization.
Lobel said the lack of action by current legislators on these issues motivates young people to take action, translating to younger candidates seeking political office.
Barriers to running
Democrat Averie Bishop is running for a Texas House seat that includes portions of Dallas County ahead of the 2024 election. The current Republican incumbent has held the seat since 2009.
The 27-year-old business development executive − who also volunteers as a substitute teacher − grew up in McKinney, Texas, in a middle-class family that often experienced financial and housing insecurity. Her father, a school bus driver, decided to run for local office when she was in high school in an attempt to show that normal people could get involved in the political sphere.
“I remember block walking with him while he wore his overalls and his campaign signs incorporated a school bus,” Bishop told USA TODAY.
The former Miss Texas has a million followers across social media platforms and posts content about what it’s like to run a campaign, raise money and receive endorsements. She also posts basic facts about the Texas legislature to increase transparency around the political process and encourage her followers to become more civically engaged.
Bishop identified two major obstacles in her pursuit for state office: Not being taken seriously and the financial challenges that come with being a candidate.
The Texas legislature only meets for several months every other year and pays legislators a part-time stipend of $7,200 per year. Bishop, who has a full-time job, worries about how she would balance her work with duties at the state capital while still being able to pay her rent and student loans.
“In order to be seen seriously, you have to raise a lot of money. In order to raise a lot of money, you have to be seen as a serious candidate,” she said. “It’s never ending. You may as well just have started fundraising money when you were in the womb if you wanted to run for office.”
Sara Suzuki, the Tufts University report’s lead author and senior researcher, said the number of young people who have shown interest in running for office is much higher than those that actually decide to put their name on a ballot.
“There’s this disparity that we see between this high rate of interest and this lower rate of actually running for office,” she said.
There are several barriers as to why young people ultimately decide to back out.
About 60% of potential candidates between the ages of 19 to 34 reported they are concerned about loss of income and employment if they run for office, according to the Tufts University study. Many have to forego their full-time employment, reduce their hours to part time or make other arrangements when running for office and funding their campaign.
Additionally, young people 19 to 25 years old reported they are much less likely than older people to feel qualified to hold elected office. Young people often receive less explicit encouragement to run for office compared to older generations, Suzuki said.
Mentorship and support
Jade Harris, 25, spent last Tuesday’s Election Day knocking on doors, campaigning for a seat in the Virginia State Senate.
“We’re fed up,” she said of her generation. “We see the same people who’ve been in office… and they’re not getting anything done.”
Growing up, Harris said her family was on food stamps and often relied on food pantries. She currently works two jobs: Part time in an ice cream shop and as a substitute teacher.
“I constantly have to prove myself to other people,” she said. “It’s kind of sad because it shouldn’t be about that. It should be about working together to provide solutions, to provide results to the people in your district.”
Harris lost the race for the Virginia Senate seat, but said it won’t deter her from Virginia state politics.
During her campaign, she received the endorsement from Run for Something, an organization that recruits and supports young and diverse progressive candidates for state and local office. It is one of several organizations formed in recent years to provide support to young candidates.
Run for Something has recruited over 140,000 young people who want to run for office since launching in 2017. Many of them are women, people of color or identify as LGBTQ+.
“Right now, America’s government is run as a gerontocracy and young people are wildly underrepresented,” Run for Something’s Juan Ramiro Sarmiento told USA TODAY.
Run for Something backed 300 candidates on the ballot for the 2023 elections with 182 candidates − more than half − winning their races.
“We had historic wins all across the board,” Ramiro Sarmiento said. “That really gives us a lot of hope for the future.”
‘Have a seat at the decision-making table’
Tsion Amare, 24, decided this year she wanted to run for a state House seat in Texas.
Born and raised in Ethiopia, Amare first came to the United States when she was 10 years old. She studied social work before working for a Texas state House representative.
“I knew I wanted to be in a place where I can run for office and have bigger influence,” she said. “I wanted to have a seat at the decision-making table.”
Amare received an endorsement from Leaders We Deserve, a group started by March for Our Lives’ co-founder David Hogg. After working on the campaign of Florida Democratic Rep. Max Frost, the first Gen Z candidate elected to Congress, Hogg and Frost’s national campaign manager Kevin Lata decided they wanted to apply the same model used to get Frost elected to state races.
They launched Leaders We Deserve in August to support candidates who are younger than 35. The organization’s goal is to provide daily support to candidates as well as assist with fundraising.
“I think what it shows is these movement leaders are not just working on the outside to create change, we’re also getting involved on the inside to be the change that we want to see,” Hogg told USA TODAY.
The organization plans to select a smaller group of candidates to support with contributions, mentorship and advice.
“I think it’s really a testament to how our generation wants to stand up and be the leaders that we deserve that we had far too few of in the past,” Hogg said.
Amare ultimately suspended her campaign after the current Democratic incumbent decided not to run in a U.S. congressional race and announced she would be running for her reelection for the state House instead. But it’s not stopping Amare — she views it as her responsibility to step up and be a voice on behalf of those in her community.
“This is definitely not the end and I’m excited to use the knowledge that I’ve gained in this time of campaigning…to run a really strong campaign next time around,” Amare said.
