Facing a New Wave: How Younger Candidates Could Be The Change America Needs

Art by Mandi Maldonado

When watching the news, many Americans look on their screen at the elected official representing them and see the same type of politician: someone who is of a much older generation. Even as the country has become increasingly diverse and seen significant changes in ideology and values, Baby Boomer leaders have stood the test of time. Our country has failed to usher new generations into office to lead the way into this new era, especially in the higher positions where long-time incumbents have dominated the polls. The United States has seen a decrease in the quality of many important things, such as healthcare and education because we haven’t elected young people who have ideas that are fitted for the modern day. Without young people, our country will not progress past yesterday’s values and move into a tomorrow that is led by the ideals of today.

So many of today’s government officials, spanning all the way from President of the United States down to local city councilmembers, have been serving in their positions or in the government for many years, even decades at times. These older generations of leaders were elected in times that had vastly different issues that needed to be solved and different ideals than those that are relevant and important in the present day.  A lot of people will try to pass off the excuse for this as the politicians having “more experience” than the younger generations of candidates trying to break into the political game. While they may have more years in some position, that doesn’t mean they are bringing the right ideas and morals that the country needs to succeed in fulfilling the duties of their position.

Many of these older candidates have kept the same mentality on issues that  initially got them elected. The reasoning for the continuation of these same politicians being elected over and over again is voter complacency. Especially in offices other than the President, voters will just vote for the incumbent because it is easy for them as they may not know more about other candidates. In the 2022 elections,the lowest incumbency win rate out of all the states was Virginia at 77%. This leaves makes it a lot harder for new candidates to be able to break into the game, especially if they have less media attention. The phenomenon of “my vote won’t make a difference” is a major fallacy that also helps assist older incumbents to get reelected as many young people don’t show out to help the other, sometimes better, candidates get elected. While many people do have a right to be disappointed in our country and the direction it is going in, they are also hurting themselves by not participating in our country's political elections to help choose who will represent them and also hopefully lead us into a much more successful and equitable future.

Why it is an Issue for Everyone

Even in the polarizing political climate that we live in today, electing a large sum of younger generations representing our country in government is a bipartisan issue. People of any political affiliation should want to see people that better represent not only the current issues facing the country, but also better representing the people that are the future of what our country could become. It is important for there to be real connections between the leaders of the United States and the generations that are going to be the core of the U.S.’s potential. In the United States, of the 333 million people, over half are of the age to be a millennial or younger (defined as forty two years old or younger). Younger voters tend to lean towards the Democratic Party, which is going to cause the Republicans to increase their outreach to the younger demographic. Turning Point USA has been one of the biggest ways Republicans have been able to get younger generations involved. This organization has been huge for the outreach to high school and college students and getting them involved in the party. An interesting thing that has been seen is that younger Republicans tend to be more moderate, which is the kind of candidate that could be extremely beneficial in our government. If Republicans are able to expand their reach to younger voters, Democrats are going to be forced not only to get young voters to vote, but also work harder to keep them on their side than they have to know. Both parties should want the incumbents of many years to be ushered out in trade for energetic individuals that create policies and morals that are based on current day experiences, not those of decades prior. 

As the years have gone by, political positions, especially ones as high stress as the President of the United States, take a mental and physical toll on the officials serving their duties. Once you get to a certain age, your mental and physical health might not truly be up to the task of fulfilling the duties of your office to a standard that would see them efficiently executed. Voters of all parties might see their initiatives handled with the passion required for them.  Deteriorating health is also something voters do not want to see in the people that make a difference in the world they are living in. Voters have been able to see this in Mitch Mcconnell freezing up on live TV and Dianne Feinstein’s two month absence from her position. While they are very serious matters and we should care for their health as people, we need leaders that are not at a vulnerable age and will be able to serve their constituents at any possible moment. 

 Another issue is that older politicians don’t bring the same excitement to voters than younger candidates are able to. With younger candidates growing up in a time with more social media presence, they have the ability to reach out to young voters' biggest base and relate to them in a way that older politicians can’t. Many younger candidates have lived very similar lives to ours and can help relate new present issues to how they affect our lives. All old politicians can do is just hope to try to learn some new lingo to give off the image that they are our best friends in parent/grandparent disguise.

The Appeal of Younger Candidates

Millennials and younger candidates bring some important characteristics to the political world that older generations could only attempt to replicate: energetic, ambitious, and relatable. Currently, politicians aren’t really representing the ideals of young people. When you’re looking at a world superpower like the United States,where half the population is younger than forty, the people that are running the future of our workforce should also have a strong presence in the government. If we as young voters are able to elect young people, we are electing officials that will be a lot closer to understanding how we grew up and also have a better chance of trying to implement policy that will be more updated to the current times. No matter whether you identify as a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or any other affiliation, younger voters and candidates will lead to a better tomorrow. 

Young candidates have their whole career ahead of them, and have more to lose in terms of making sure they are following what their constituents want, meaning voters will be able to hold them accountable. Our country's government is plagued with old politicians that feel that because of their seniority they are above being held accountable, especially ones that serve in positions that don’t receive as much recognition. While of course this doesn’t hold true for every older candidate, people must ask themselves if who they are voting for, if they are voting at all, truly represents what they want to see being done in their communities. This question pertains to positions ranging from city council member and school board member to Senator and President of the United States. These positions deserve to be led by candidates who have grown up recently in these areas that they serve and know the current issues for the area they are serving. People who grew up in the area a long time ago may be more removed from the scope of the current issues at hand. 

A crucial benefit that can come out of younger elected officials is the rejuvenation of America’s young voting base. When the younger voters stop seeing old people telling them what to do and how their world should work and instead start seeing energetic, ambitious candidates who can much more closely relate to them, they will be excited to get out and vote in order to keep the new wave of leaders in power. It will also encourage more people to not only run for positions, but also just stay politically active. When we look with our own eyes and see people that not only look like us but also relate to us, we can hope to try and believe in a system that can help benefit the future. When the future of the workforce feels they are being represented, our economy can benefit from increased worker morale, as they will feel like their jobs and aspirations are being represented within the government and that the country is working with them.

Younger Candidates Today and Their Current Influence

In the past decade, we have seen some prominent young candidates come to the forefront of the political world on both sides of party affiliations. Whether Democrat, Republican, or anything in between, these candidates have brought a fresh perspective on what younger generations can do for our country.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a phenomenal example of the kind of attention needed for these types of candidates. In 2019, she was able to go from an unknown waitress to representing the fourteenth Congressional District of New York. One of the biggest takeaways from her election was that she was able to defeat a 10 year incumbent of her own party (Joe Crowley)! It wasn’t an issue of her district being tired of a Republican leader, they were tired of someone that was on the older side at 57 years old.  She was able to defeat a candidate of this level with a completely grassroots campaign even with Crowley receiving donations from multiple major donors. 

AOC’s victory was also huge in the fact that she better represents the demographic of her district. In a district where fifty two percent of the district is Hispanic and the median age is 37, AOC being a 34-year-old Puerto Rican woman is huge in making sure the ideals of young people are not being thrown under the carpet. While having an older representative doesn’t mean that they aren’t somewhat familiar with the issues of their district, being younger means that you have grown up around the more modern problems and understand what it’s like to have to deal with them when life can be harder, such as being a college student with not a lot of money or young adults trying to find their way in the world. 

Vivek Ramaswamy is a great current-day example of another young political candidate that has come into the spotlight. When watching him in comparison to the other, older candidates, he definitely has a more youthful, energetic appeal to him. He even stated that the GOP can’t hope to reach young voters without changing how they do it.

When watching the Presidential debates, Vivek seems to stand out in terms of the energy and passion he is bringing to the debate stage. Even if you don’t agree with his policies, it is very easy to tell that he brings more interest to politics than older candidates like Mike Pence or Doug Bergum. The older candidates keep a slower, less energetic vibe, most likely trying to keep the calm leader look. Vivek and even another younger candidate like Ron Desantis come off with more energy and passion, also doing a fair share of after other candidates. Whether the voters like it or not, these big moments are what gets clipped on social media and brings attention to these candidates. With the exception of Donald Trump, most of the older candidates aren’t bringing these kinds of vibes and even Trump can’t give off the refreshing youthful aura that brings hope for new, more updated ideals.

One of the biggest differences between Vivek and the other Republican candidates' campaigns is his social media presence. So far this campaign season, we have seen Vivek collaborate with Jake Paul to help bring attention to his campaign. Jake Paul, whether liked or disliked, is one of the most well-known influencers on social media for more than half a decade. Vivek knows that by getting him to make a TikTok with him, he can directly target audiences of young people. Most Millenials, at least on the older end, won’t know or care about what Jake Paul has to say. However, the Gen Z and younger millennial population grew up with social media and the internet and a lot of these influencers that grew to immense fame are celebrities. Seeing a young and possibly relatable politician working with them and having a presence on Instagram feeds and TikTok For You pages can make a huge difference for voters who don’t read or watch the news.

How Can We Help to Elect these Candidates

Recognizing that younger politicians would benefit the future of our country is just the first step. The most important step is for the young population to finally step up and make our voices heard at the polls and in the political world. In the 2020 elections, we saw less than half of voters aged 18 to 29 turn out to vote. This is an immense issue when it comes to representing what the future holds for our country.

Social media exposure for these young candidates is crucial in order to get young people to vote for them. Whether it is good for them or not, voters receive a lot of their information through social media activity. If candidates were to figure out how better to spread their message to young people through online activity, they could significantly increase their chances of exposing voters to their ideals and plans, therefore strengthening their base with young people.

In general, getting young voters to not only be more politically active but politically aware and educated, would massively benefit our country. High School government courses could help by bringing more attention to local politics within the area around them. If they were to spend at least a few class periods going over the importance of each of the city and county level positions and educating the students on what each position does, young voters would feel a lot more inclined to look into the candidates on the ballot, and be more inclined to vote in general. Many voters just need to feel that these positions on the ballot affect them and apply to their lives. When young voters care more about these positions, it is the perfect opening for young candidates to run and reach out to these bases of voters to garner support for their campaigns. These candidates would most likely feel exciting and intriguing to young voters who typically don’t care as much about politics, and especially care less when the people running remind them of their elders rather than their peers. Candidates/elected officials could set up events to talk to the students at high schools and colleges to meet/connect with them.  It is sad that when I tried to research examples for this, nothing came up. Candidates would be able to gain a lot of support from high school or college-age voters if they made the effort to go to their schools. One of the best ways to get a voter's attention is to go to them, rather than have them seek the candidate out. If this is done, the voter doesn’t have to do anything and will see the young candidate as someone who cares enough to go and seek them out to spread a message that will benefit them.

Younger generations running for elected offices will lead to a result that our country needs: younger generations choosing what happens with our country and world. The United States is one of, if not the most, influential countries in the world. The decisions that we make today will affect our world of tomorrow. It is time for our voters to finally pass the torch from baby boomers to millennials and Gen Z. Young candidates have grown up and lived through the hardships of today's age and it is time for them to have serious input on America’s decisions.