MILLENNIAL ACTION PROJECT RELEASES REPORT ON YOUNG PEOPLE RUNNING FOR CONGRESS IN 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 2, 2022

MEDIA CONTACT:

Alexa Whaley, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — Today, Millennial Action Project (MAP) released a new report finding that there are 334 Millennial and Gen Z candidates running for Congress this election cycle. The Millennials on the Rise report is the best resource for researchers, journalists, and candidates looking for comprehensive data on every single Millennial and Gen Zer running for Congress.

Topline findings on the state of young candidates seeking congressional office include:

• 1 out of 6 Congressional candidates nationwide are Millennials. 
• From 2020 to 2022, there was a 42% increase in candidates age 45 and under running for Congress. This includes a 57% increase for true Millennial candidates (born between 1981 and 1996).
• 334 candidates running for Congress (House and Senate) in November are age 45 or younger.  Of those, 193 are “true” Millennials (91 of whom are 35 are younger).  This year we are seeing the first Gen Zers running – there are two on the November ballots. 
• Of the total candidates tracked, 103 are women, 230 are men, and there is one non-binary candidate. In 2020, 41% of the candidates age 45 and under were women. In 2022, that number has dipped to just under 31%.
• 54 Millennial candidates for Congress are incumbents. 53 Millennials are running for re-election in the House, and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is up for re-election in the Senate.

Despite common misconceptions about the partisanship of rising generations, Members of Congress 45 years old or younger have been scored as more bipartisan than their older peers for the last three Congresses in a row. This surge in young candidates running for office is an encouraging sign for Americans hoping for a fresh, more collaborative approach to governing. When young people get elected to public office, they govern differently.

The full report is available here. If you would like to learn more about the Millennial Action Project and their mission to activate young leaders to bridge the partisan divide and transform American politics, please visit millennialaction.org or reach out to the press contact listed above. 

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The Millennial Action Project (MAP) is a national, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to activating young policymakers to bridge the partisan divide and lead a new era of collaborative governance. In 2013, MAP organized America’s first-ever bipartisan caucus for young members of Congress, the Congressional Future Caucus. Shaping the next generation of leadership, MAP’s Future Caucus Network has expanded into nearly 31 state legislatures and grown into the largest nonpartisan organization of millennial and Gen Z elected officials in the U.S.