Age in the 2025 Kansas Legislature
The State of Kansas held its elections for a new Kansas House of Representatives and Kansas State Senate on November 4th 2024. In January 2025 the currently active 2025-2026 legislative session of the Kansas Legislature. Among the members elected 12 were aged 35 or younger on election day in 2024. Below is a map of these representatives within both chambers of the Kansas Legislature.
Kansas Demographic Background in the 2024 Election
Preliminary estimates from CIRCLE at Tufts University indicate that 42% of young people aged 18–29 voted in the 2024 election, with turnout surpassing 50% in key battleground states. Nearly 50 million young citizens were eligible to vote nationwide, including over 8 million who turned 18 since the 2022 midterms.
According to the Pew Research Center, Millennials surpassed Baby Boomers in 2020 to become the largest generation in the U.S., making up 31% of the population, followed closely by Boomers at 30.9%. Generation X accounts for 28%, while the Silent Generation makes up just 9.9%. According to the CIRCLE institutes – Youth Electoral Significance Index (YESI), young voters in Kansas had strong political sway. For example, according to YESI the congressional race in Kansas’s 3rd district ranked 45th most impacted by youth political participation.
This election showcased the increasing diversity of the youth electorate, with notable differences in voting patterns by race, gender, and issue priorities. Given Kansas’s unique demographics, voters elected nine members to the Kansas House of Representatives, who were age 35 and under on election day. Below is information about the generational backgrounds of the current Kansas House of Representatives.
The Kansas House of Representatives 2025-26 Legislative Session
Below is information covering age dynamics in the recently elected to the Kansas House of Representatives
- the average age of Kansas House of Representatives members is 57.99 years
- the youngest Representative Angel Roeser was born in 2001
- the oldest Representative Cindy Neighbor was born in 1941
- 9 Representatives are Young Elected Leaders age 35 or younger as of Election Day 2024
Generational Breakdown
Within the Kansas House of Representatives, most representatives come from the Millennial, Generation X or The Baby Boomer generation. Importantly, only a few members of the current Kansas House of Representatives belong to Generation Z. Scroll below to see the generations in the Kansas House of Representatives visualized.
* Two House members ages are currently missing, and one house seat is currently vacant
Partisanship in the Kansas House of Representatives
The chart below further breaks down the current partisan makeup of the 2025 Kansas House of Representatives. Each dot represents a single member, colored by both party affiliation and whether the legislator qualifies as a Young Elected Leader (YEL)—defined as age 35 or younger at the time of the election. This format provides a visual snapshot of generational and partisan distribution within the chamber, highlighting how younger legislators are positioned across party lines.
Partisan dynamics in the Kansas House of Representatives reflect not only ideological differences but also generational contrasts. The visual below highlights one key distinction: the average age of legislators by party. Both parties in the Kansas House have identical average ages. Differences in average ages may reflect broader trends in political recruitment, generational turnover, and candidate emergence in recent election cycles.
* Two House members ages are currently missing, and one house seat is currently vacant
Young Elected Representatives – Kansas House of Representatives
Following the 2024 State Legislative Elections in Kansas, nine members aged 35 or under were elected to the Kansas House of Representatives. Below are all eleven of these members along with information about their local districts and party affiliation.
| Name | District |
Birth year (Age on Election Day) |
Year first elected to Kansas House | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Angel Roeser (R) | 67th District –
Manhattan, KS |
2001 (Age 23) | 2024 |
 |
Avery Anderson (R) | 72nd District –
Newton, KS |
1997 (Age 27) | 2020 |
 |
Kyler Sweely (R) | 102nd District –
Hutchinson, KS |
1997 (Age 27) | 2024 |
 |
Blake Carpenter (R) | 81st District –
Derby, KS |
1996 (Age 28) | 2020 |
 |
Alexis Simmons (D) | 58th District –
Topeka, KS |
1995 (Age 29) | 2024 |
 |
Lindsay Vaughn (D) | 22nd District –
Overland Park, KS |
1994 (Age 30) | 2020 |
 |
Laura Williams (R) | 30th District –
Lenexa, KS |
1991 (Age 33) | 2022 |
 |
Brandon Woodard (D) | 102nd District –
Lenexa, KS |
1990 (Age 34) | 2018 |
 |
Rui Xu (D)
|
25th District –
Mission, KS |
1989 (Age 35) | 2018 |
Photos courtesy of the Kansas House of Representatives member roster.
Gender in the Kansas House of Representatives
The Kansas House of Representatives reflects a range of age and gender dynamics that help shape the composition of the state’s legislative body. Across all members, 66.94% are men, while women make up the remaining 33.06%. Age differences between these groups are substantial. For male representatives there was an average age of 59.53 at the time of the election, compared to 54.82 for their female colleagues. Of the the 9 Young Elected Leaders, 5 are male and 4 are female.
When examining both gender and party affiliation, distinct age differences emerge within the Kansas House of Representatives. Among men, Republicans and Democrats have relatively high average ages—58.09 and 59.9 years, respectively. Among women, Republican legislators are the youngest on average at 52.71 years, while Democratic women average 56.94 years. Across all gender and party combinations, the average age remains above 52. These patterns highlight how age representation in the Kansas House varies by both gender and party, reflecting differing pathways to political office across demographic groups.
* Two House members ages are currently missing, and one seat is currently vacant.
Race and Ethnicity in the Kansas House of Representatives
The racial and ethnic composition of the Kansas House of Representatives varies significantly across generations. In the 2024 Kansas House older generations are overall more diverse, countering national trends. This table highlights how race and ethnicity intersect with age in shaping the diversity of the legislative body.
Generations by Race/Ethnicity in the Kansas House of Representatives
|
Generation Z 1997 – |
Millennial Generation
1981 – 1996 |
Generation X
1965 –1980 |
Boomer Generation
1946 – 1964 |
Silent Generation
1928 – 1945 |
Full Chamber | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 2
(66.67%) |
16
(88.89%) |
36
(94.74%) |
53
(89.83%) |
3
(75%) |
110
(90.16%) |
| Black/African American | – | 1
(5.56%) |
2
(5.26%) |
2
(3.39%) |
1
(25%) |
6
(4.92%) |
| Hispanic/Latino | – | – | – | 4
(6.78%) |
– | 4
(3.28%) |
| Asian/Pacific American | 1
(33.33%) |
1
(5.56%) |
– | – | – | 2
(1.64%) |
| Total (Precent of Kansas House) | 3
(2.46%) |
18
(14.75%) |
38
(31.15%) |
59
(48.36%) |
4
(3.28%) |
122*
(100%) |
*Missing ages for two house members and one seat is currently vacant. The full Kansas House of Representatives is comprised of 125 seats.
The Kansas Senate
Below is information covering age dynamics in the recently elected Kansas State Senate.
- the average age of Kansas State Senate members is 59.51 years
- the youngest Senator is Chase Blasi who was born in 1994
- the oldest Senator is Pat Pettey who was born in 1946
- 3 Senators are Young Elected Leaders, aged 35 or younger as of Election Day 2024
Young Elected Senators in the Kansas State Senate
Following the 2024 State Legislative Elections in Kansas, one member aged 35 or under was elected to the Kansas State Senate. Below is information about their local districts and party affiliation.
| Name | District | Birth Year (Age on Election Day) |
Year First Elected to the Kansas State Senate |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Chase Blasi (R) | 26th District – Wichita, KS | 1994 (Age 30) |
2023 |
 |
Tony Marie Blew (R) | 33rd District – Great Bend, KS | 1993 (Age 31) |
2024 |
 |
Patrick Schmidt (D) | 19th District – Topeka, KS | 1991 (Age 33) |
2024 |
Photos courtesy of Kansas State Senate member roster
Partisanship in the Kansas State Senate
In the Kansas State Senate, 31 senators belong to the Republican Party, 9 senators are Democrats. The mean age of Republican state senators after the 2024 election was 59.51, while the mean age of Democratic state senators was 59.53. Each generation had a different partisan makeup. Below is the breakdown of party composition for each generation within the Kansas State Senate.
* Two Senate members ages are currently missing
Gender in the Kansas Senate
The generational makeup of the Kansas Senate also reflects important gender dynamics. Across generations, gender balance is more male skewed across generations. Overall more men are represented than women among Millennial, Generation X and members of The Baby Boomer generation. These patterns suggest that gender balance varies across generational lines, with women represented in each age cohort of the Kansas Senate.
Race and Ethnicity in the Kansas Senate
The racial and ethnic composition of the Kansas Senate reveals generational variation in representation. Below is the breakdown of race and ethnicity within the Kansas Senate.
Generations by Race/Ethnicity in the Kansas State Senate
| Millennial Generation | Generation X | Boomer Generation | Silent Generation | Full Chamber | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 7 (100%) | 9 (100%) | 20 (90.91%) | – | 36 (94.74%) |
| Black/African American | – | – | 2 (9.09%) | – | 2 (5.26%) |
| Total | 5 (10.2%) | 22 (44.9%) | 21 (42.86%) | – | *38 (100%) |
* Two Senate members ages are currently missing. The full Kansas State Senate is comprised of 40 seats.
Notes
The Young Elected Leaders Project applies the generational categorization of the Pew Research Center:
- Silent Generation: 1928 – 1945
- Baby Boomer Generation: 1946 – 1964
- Generation X: 1965 – 1980
- Millennial Generation: 1981 – 1996
- Generation Z: 1997 – 2012
This analysis is based on data from the most recent state legislative election in Kansas which took place on November 5th 2024.
Citation Guideline
In referencing the Young Elected Leaders Project in publication please use the following language: “The Young Elected Leaders Project is housed at the Center for Youth Political Participation at The Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University – New Brunswick.”
Bibliographic Citation For this document
Author: Young Elected Leaders Project
Corresponding Authors: George D. Quinn
Year: 2024
Title: Age in the 2025 Kansas Legislature