Cheyenne Hunt says there’s one thing young candidates like herself hear way too often: “Wait your turn.”
But Hunt, a 26-year-old from Fullerton who hopes to be the first Generation Z (someone born from 1997 to the early 2010s) woman elected to Congress, says “the stakes are too high to wait.”
And while they’re on opposite sides of the political spectrum, that’s a sentiment shared by Republican Max Ukropina, a 36-year-old congressional candidate from Costa Mesa. Younger people, Ukropina said, “can’t wait (to run for office) until things have become even worse.”
Hunt and Ukropina agree that their time is now. Hunt is vying for the 45th district held by Republican Rep. Michelle Steel, and Ukropina, a millennial, is shooting for the 47th district being vacated by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter.
They join a growing number of young candidates across the country demanding a seat at the decision-making table.
The number of millennials (people born from 1981 to 1996, as designated by the Pew Research Center) in Congress has gone up in recent years, according to the Pew Research Center. Last year, the first member of Gen Z, Florida Democrat Maxwell Frost, was elected to the House.
Hunt, who became eligible to vote in the 2016 presidential election, said that pivotal moment is “supposed to be exciting,” but young people are going into that experience “hopeless and frustrated.”
The recent law school graduate who was raised in Orange County by a single mother and grandmother believes Congress needs more young people like her. Her generation, she said, is walking into a very different world than their parents’ and grandparents’.
“They’re staring down the barrel of student loan debt … but the wages are not keeping up in a way that they’re going to be able to sustain those payments and keep food on the table, let alone dream of ever owning a home,” said Hunt. “Women’s bodily autonomy is threatened, climate change is far-reaching and worsening and students like the ones just down the road at Cal State Fullerton are walking into crushing amounts of student debt.”
“Young voters are really, really concerned about that. I think they’re looking for representation, someone who grew up in that same struggle,” she said.
Ukropina, who like Hunt is trying to flip a House seat, said younger people are becoming increasingly important in elections, especially in districts where there are large communities of them.
The median age of the 47th congressional district, where Ukropina is running, is 38.5, according to census data. Additionally, people aged 25 to 44 account for roughly 30% of the district’s total population, making them the largest demographic in that district.
That’s also the case in five other congressional districts that cover Orange County. In the 45th district, where Hunt is running, the median age is 40.8, and people in that 25 to 44 group account for 26% of the district’s total population.
“If we want things to change, we need people with fresh perspectives, whether it be from people on the left or on the right,” he said.
Ukropina said he’s heard from fellow young Republicans who are most concerned about border security and safety in their communities as well as the cost of living in Orange County.
Nationwide, voters under the age of 30 cite the economy as the biggest issue the country faces, according to a recent Emerson College poll.
Ukropina decried Congress’ decision to temporarily suspend the maximum amount of debt the U.S. is allowed to accrue until Jan. 1, 2025, saying it’s a disservice to Americans.
“It’s just crazy to me that we have a Congress that is willing to saddle more debt onto the younger generations,” he said.
The economy, climate change and gun violence are the top three issues for young voters, according to Aashi Jhawer, 18, a first-year student at UCLA.
“Climate change is constantly happening. We are constantly having mass shootings. And as we’re growing older, we have to think more about the housing crisis and housing affordability,” said Jhawer, a spokesperson for the California chapter of Voters of Tomorrow, a Gen Z-led progressive group for activist youth. “We need more candidates that can put (those issues) at the forefront of their agendas.”
Young adults feel disconnected from the government at lower levels, too, said Mason Morgan, the executive director of the conservative Run GenZ organization that recruits young candidates to run for local and state offices. Morgan said young adults feel that the decisions made in local governments up to Congress disproportionately affect their generation.
Morgan said he expects the number of young people running for elected office across the country to grow year after year.
“We’re just seeing the beginning of Gen Z and millennials demanding their seat at the table,” he said. “I think a lot of people on both sides of the aisle are getting sick and tired of the status quo. They’re willing to take a chance on these young people if they could prove that they’re going to represent their community well.”
A lack of representation for her generation motivated Costa Mesa resident Hengameh “Henny” Abraham to run for office.
“The younger generation, millennials, living in this economy, trying to raise a family, running a business, are not represented,” said Abraham, 37, who’s running in the 73rd Assembly district.
Abraham, who came to Orange County from Iran when she was 14, said she would bring a fresh perspective to Sacramento because of her identity as a minority female and a Republican.
In the Golden State, there are 17 legislators in their 20s and 30s in this year’s legislative class, a step up from last year’s 12.
Alex Mohajer, a Democrat vying for the 37th Senate district said he hopes to bump up that number.
“It’s time for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate,” Mohajer, 38, said. “It’s time for a new paradigm of political thought. My generation sees the inaction on climate and on the homelessness crisis and a deepening income inequality that our elected officials, by and large, have either punted on or thrown money at the problem while it continues to worsen.”
Mohajer, raised in Irvine by a single mother who immigrated from Iran, said the economy today puts working families in a very tough spot.
“I know how hard it was for me to grow up in Orange County,” he said. “And I think it’s even harder today than it was for our family. That’s a problem — we need to be passing along a world that’s better for our kids and the next generation than the one we inherited.”
Win or lose, Mohajer said his goal is to connect with voters who are tired of the “politics of yesterday.”
“I think there’s a national appetite for a new generation of leaders,” he said. “They’re interested in getting representatives who understand their communities. And that’s why we’re appealing.”
This story has been updated.
