The average age of Texans last year was 37, while the Legislature’s average age was 55. Hurdles to voting and the unique challenges young candidates encounter fuel the mismatch.
State Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, speaks with a student visiting her office in the Capitol in Austin on May 18, 2023.Figure out what to wear to be taken seriously; prepare a few one-liners to respond to the inevitable critiques about your age; know the issues facing your district.Zwiener was the second youngest elected state lawmaker in Texas when she won a state House seat at 33.
For young professionals building a career and a family, those logistical hurdles can make running for office seem like a pipe dream. Not to mention the paltry pay of $600 a month. “That’s how I won my swing seat in Williamson County, a seat that had voted for Donald Trump just two years before I ran,” Talarico said. “I went and knocked on everyone’s door.”
Young candidates on both sides of the aisle say that when they seek elected office, they hear a discouraging refrain: It’s not your turn yet. “For some reason, we have this stereotype that elected leaders can’t have the level of maturity needed at a younger age,” Parker said. “I’ve tried to break that stereotype to the best of my ability.”
All of these factors contribute to the low registration rate among young people in Texas, where 39.6% of 18-24 year olds were registered to vote in November 2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. A segment of the student population is especially hard to convince to vote, said Zach Spanhak, vice president of the Texas Aggie Democrats at Texas A&M University. Those students are disillusioned with politics and feel like they aren’t represented or heard by elected leaders.Spanhak said he tries to break through to those voters but that sometimes it isn’t possible.
State Sen. Morgan LaMantia, D-South Padre Island, speaks at her oath of office ceremony in Brownsville on Feb. 3, 2023.“I’ve felt like I needed to work twice as hard so I would be seen as a peer and a colleague, as someone who could talk about the issues at their same level,” said LaMantia. Vasut’s mother served on the local school board, his father was a justice of the peace and his grandfather was president of the Angleton Rotary Club. Every Wednesday evening, his family sat down for dinner and discussed the goings-on in the community.State Rep. Cody Vasut, R-Angleton, discusses a point of order with House Parliamentarian Sharon Carter on the House floor at the state Capitol on April 18, 2023.
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