Currently, there is an age imbalance in the American government. 20 percent of congress was over the age of 70 in 2024 and only six percent were under 40. Our two most recent presidents are the oldest on record. In fact, only one out of the last five presidents was born after the 1940s.
Americans have noticed this imbalance. Around 80 percent of Americans from both sides of the aisle are actually in favor of upper age limits for certain governmental roles. Junior Casey Salerno explains, “It makes sense to set rules on how old someone with so much power can be. If someone in control doesn’t have the full mental capacity that is necessary it could cause disaster.”
Junior Lindsey McManus represents another aspect of this argument, “Without younger politicians younger Americans and voters aren’t represented. I think that younger voters do not completely trust older politicians to have their best interests in mind.”
But this year some up and coming younger politicians and candidates have stood out as hope for a new generation of leaders. With midterm elections on the horizon, politicians and candidates have been showing what they are capable of.
For some, this means using creative tactics. 26 year-old Kat Abughazelah is a democratic candidate for Illinois’ 9th Congressional district in the 2026 midterm elections. Although she is young, she already has experience as a journalist with Media Matters for America, Zeteo News and Mother Jones. She has been campaigning on her goal of taking down fascists. She did not shy away from criticizing public figures in her journalism career. Specifically, Abughazelah played an instrumental role in calling out Tucker Carlson.
In her campaign she has already set herself apart with unique tactics like running a parody self attack ad, raising 400,000 dollars for her campaign, primarily through small dollar donations (averaging at 34 dollars each), and she has turned her campaign headquarters into a mutual aid center offering resources with no questions asked.
Kat Abughazelah has cited Zohran Mamdani, the recently elected democratic socialist mayor of New York City as inspiration for her campaign. The 34 year-old mayor has proven that young politicians and candidates have a chance. He has also displayed creativity and boldness in his actions. Most recently Mamdani showed creative tactics can work when he unconventionally offered 30 dollars an hour to volunteers to help shoveling snow. The new strategy got the streets and sidewalks cleared efficiently, although it did attract controversy over whether it was the right use of taxpayer money and over the requirement of ID.
But young politicians may just have a chance and with younger politicians come bold new ideas. While it may not be immediate that young voters will receive a more equal representation in government, change can start with a few bold leaders who can inspire others.
