Age Discrimination Towards Young Candidates— A Growing Trend.
By: Fran Wilson
Tags: Age Discrimination, Politics, Campaign, Youth, Discrimination

Age Discrimination Towards Young Candidates— A Growing Trend.

In the U.S., more youth are running for office than ever before. I’ve studied hundreds of candidates under 30, and I can tell you that age discrimination is real and a constant threat to their campaigns. Fran Wilson Follow Dec 15, 2020 · 5 min read

Young folks are running for office

In today’s democracies, youth are not always considered a force at the polls or in legislating. They are a minority in politics. Youth lack proper representation in government, and, until reaching the age of eighteen, cannot vote, and thus cannot participate in the most fundamental exercises of democracy.

However, youth frequently challenge political establishments and norms, giving bold, often radical, perspectives on policy and government. In recent history, there have been many influential youth-based political movements: the Tiananmen student protests, the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong, the Arab Spring, climate strikes in the form of school walkouts, and the gun reform movement re-born by the Parkland, Florida survivors to name a few.

Not all youth have the knack or desire for political work, but those who do begin at a young age to engage politics locally, involving themselves in campaign work, interning for government and non-government organizations, joining youth political parties, and even running for office themselves.

Francisco Serrano, 25, gets his team ready to canvass. Francisco ran to be the youngest and first Latino Bowling Green, Kentucky City Commissioner in 2020.

Interviewing Youth Candidates

As one of a handful of people following the growing trend of young people running for office, I was naturally very curious about the role that age plays in a youth candidate’s campaign. So, I interviewed 12 youth candidates, between 18–23.

In all 12 interviews, candidates described experiences with different types of discrimination. While one candidate was criticized for the shade of their lipstick and the clothes they wore, another was spit upon after being called an offensive racial slur. Other candidates dealt with profanity and door slamming. While some faced racial, religious, and gender discrimination at one or more points in their respective election cycles, all 12 candidates reported that they faced discrimination because of their age. These instances varied in nature and situation, and are described below.

Jake Rybczyk, 19, shows his canvassing turf of 10k houses, which he canvassed twice in his run for San Clemente City Council in 2018.

Canvassing

Four youth candidates relayed moments when voters told them while door-knocking that they were too young. On two instances, candidates were interrupted by the voter guessing the candidates age. In both instances, the voter had guessed an age that was at least six years older than the actual age of the candidate. One candidate mentioned that some voters had told them their campaign was ego-driven. To this, the candidate shared in their interview, “If you want to experience a solid death to your ego, go ahead and run for office while you’re young.”

Public Forums

Two candidates reported that older opponents would consistently call them by “boys” or “kids” or “high schoolers” in public forums. Three candidates mentioned that in public forums, opponents had attempted a negative attack on them, stating that they did not have the “experience” to lead, or that they were “too new to the issues” and could not be trusted. One candidate reported that the political party they were apart of did not allow them to be in the debates. Another candidate shared that once they had walked into an event and was asked “what office are you from?”, implying that they were an intern or staffer. They replied, “My own.”

Asking for Support

One candidate remembered a time when they had approached their former government teacher to gain an election petition signature, but was rejected because their age. When asking for campaign contributions, one candidate relayed that people were not comfortable giving money to them, because they were too young. Another candidate reported that many of their constituents were interested in having a younger candidate, but “had a hard time believing in the chances of one winning an election”.

Some Win, Most Lose

Only two of the 12 interviewed won their elections. However, from the end of the interview period, two more of the past interviewees have won a new cycle of elections and are now in office.

Jackson Hinkle, 19, ran for San Clemente California City Council in 2018 with his best friend, Jake Rybczyk, 19. This is Jackson shortly after voting for the first time— when he was on the ballot himself.

Why Age Matters

These stories of age discrimination show that some voters consider there to be more risk in voting for a youth candidate. It is concerning that youth candidates were discriminated against because of their age. It is a problem that simple fact of their age, or their presumed age, was a deterrence. From the stress of finances to the long hours spent on strategy and messaging, campaigning is in no way an easy process. It is no more easier when the people you need to win think you are not qualified simply because of your age.

Looking over the 2020 presidential election cycle, we can see that age was apart of the discussion in qualifying for the role of president.

Current South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg ran not only the first openly gay male to run for the position, but the youngest to ever run, at 37—just two years over the constitutionally required 35 years of age to serve. On news networks and social media were concerns about his age being a hindrance to victory. To this, Buttigieg often responded about his experience in city leadership and the military.

It is also important to note that Tulsi Gabbard, age 38, ran too. Gabbard, too, was a youth candidate, as she ran for state office at age 21.

It is testified by history that youth have and will continue to step up when the moment arises, and will likely will gain more and more leadership positions as a result of diversifying leadership and the state of political activism in the U.S. today. The trending increase of youth candidates portrays an America that is led from the bottom up, an America where youth march and protest and turn up at the polls — an America where young people steer the country through elected leadership positions.

In looking to the future, as more and more youth candidates enter races across the country, voters must begin to ask themselves if being young is an inherent negative characteristic for viable political candidates.

Read more of my study— When Youth Run for Office — diving into youth campaign patterns and the growing trend of young folks running for office.