The Gen Z Woman Ready to Take on Congress
Originally published by Ekaterina Pechenkina for Politico
Last year Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) made headlines when he became the first ever Gen Z legislator to be elected to Congress at the age of 25, the minimum age to requirement for the representatives. (There is no upper limit!) But Congress still has a representation problem when it comes to age. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, while the House of Representatives is getting a little younger – the median age of lawmakers in the 118th Congress is 57.9 years, down from 58.9 in the 117th class — the Senate is getting older. There, the median age rose from 64.8 to 65.3 years.
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who is now 33 years old, remains the youngest woman in Congress.
Although over 70 Gen Z legislators currently serving in state capitals all over the country, there is still no Gen Z woman representative in Washington D.C. Cheyenne Hunt, a 25-year-old California attorney and activist, hopes to change that. Hunt works as a Big Tech Accountability Advocate for Public Citizen, specializing in drafting legislation aimed at holding tech companies accountable. If elected, Hunt would be the first Gen Z woman to serve in Congress.
“It’s time to make a change, and Gen Z isn’t waiting,” the Democrat wrote in her Twitter announcement message.
She launched her campaign last month, running to represent the state’s 45th Congressional District, which includes parts of both Los Angeles and Orange counties. She’s facing stiff competition: There are already two other Democratic candidates in the race to flip the seat currently occupied by Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.), who won her second term in November over Democratic candidate Jay Chen.
I spoke with her about what matters to young voters, why she thinks Gen Z has it harder than other generations — and what older politicians get wrong.