RELEASE: Mississippi State Legislature Welcomes 30 Elected Gen Z and Millennial Leaders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Pamela Goldsmith

C: 202.702.2655

[email protected]

Washington, DC | November 7, 2023 — Future Caucus today announced that in the Mississippi state legislative races, where all 122 seats in the Mississippi House of Representatives, and 52 seats in the Mississippi State Senate were up for election, 29 millennials and one Gen Z were among the winning candidates. Of the 36 lawmakers under 45 running for office, 27 were incumbents, with 35 being millennial and one Gen Z. Five were newly elected and 25 re-elected. At 11:00 p.m., six races remain that include millennials.

We are pleased to congratulate the following newly elected young representatives who will join the ranks of Mississippi’s decision-makers:

1. Rep. Jeramey Anderson: District 110
2. Rep. Otis Anthony: District 31
3. Sen. Jason Barrett: District 39
4. Rep. Bradford Blackmon: District 21
5. Sen. Jenifer Branning: District 18
6. Rep. Billy Adam Calvert District 83
7. Sen. Joel Carter District 49
8. Rep. Clay Deweese: District 12
9. Sen. Jeremy England: District 51
10. Rep. Casey Eure: District 116
11. Rep. Jimmy Fondren: District 111
12. Rep. Kevin Ford: District 54
13. Rep. Justin Gibbs: District 72
14. Sen. Rod Hickman: District 32
15. Rep. Latisha Jackson: District 11
16. Sen. Chris Johnson: District 45
17. Rep. Trey Lamar: District 8
18. Rep. Ken McCarty: District 101
19. Sen. Tyler McCaughn: District 31
20. Sen. Fabian Nelson: District 66
21. Rep. Jansen Owen: District 106
22. Rep. Orlando Paden: District 26
23. Rep. Daryl Porter: District 98
24. Rep. Brian Rhodes: District 36
25. Rep. Noah Sanford: District 90
26. Rep. Fred Shanks: District 60
27. Rep. Zakiya Summers: District 68
28. Sen. Jeff Tate: District 33
29. Sen. Neil Whaley: District 10
30. Rep. Shane Barnett: District 86

Prior to today’s election, Mississippi’s House comprised 40 members of the Democratic Party, 76 members of the Republican Party, three Independents and three vacancies. In the Mississippi State Senate, there were 15 members of the Democratic Party and 36 members of the Republican Party and one other. 

Two of the candidates elected are co-chairs of the Mississippi Future Caucus — Rep. Jeramey Anderson, a Democrat and Rep. Shane Barnett, a Republican. 

Future Caucus’ recently released 2023 Young State Leadership Report revealed that 40% of all bipartisan legislation signed into law in 2023 was authored by young legislators; and 25% of all state legislators are Gen Z or millennials, with 566 young legislators holding committee chair positions in their state legislatures.

Layla Zaidane, President & CEO of Future Caucus spoke about the significance of this moment, stating, “This surge in young candidates running for office is a promising sign for Americans hoping for a fresh, more collaborative approach to governing. When young people get elected to public office, they lead differently. At Future Caucus, we believe in the power of the next generation to build powerful solutions and get results.”

About Future Caucus

Future Caucus 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, it organized America’s first-ever bipartisan caucus for young members of Congress — the Congressional Future Caucus. Shaping the next generation of leadership, the organization’s Future Caucus network has expanded into 33 state legislatures and grown into the largest nonpartisan organization of Gen Z and millennial elected officials in the U.S. More information is available at: www.futurecaucus.org.

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