Alaska Legislature Snapshot
The State of Alaska held its elections for a new state house and senate on November 4th 2024. On January 21st 40 state house members and 20 state senators were sworn into office by Alaska Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom and began the currently active 34th legislative session of the Alaska Legislature. Among the members elected 5 were aged 35 or younger on election day in 2024. Below is a map of these representatives of the Alaska Legislature.
Demographic Background in the 2024 Election
Preliminary estimates provided 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, including over 8 million young voters who turned 18 since the 2022 midterms. According to the CIRCLE institutes – Youth Electoral Significance Index (YESI), Alaska voters had strong political sway. For example, according to YESI Alaska’s at large congressional race in 2024 ranked 33rd most impacted by youth political participation.
Nationally, according to the Pew Research Center, Millennials in 2020 overtook Baby Boomers as the largest generation in the U.S., comprising 31% of the population, followed closely by Baby Boomers at 30.9%. Generation X makes up 28%, while the Silent Generation is the smallest at 9.9%.
Statewide elections in Alaska showcased the increasing diversity of the youth electorate, with notable differences in voting patterns by race, gender, and issue priorities. Given Alaska’s uniquely diverse population, voters elected five members to the Alaska Legislature, who were age 35 and under on election day. Below is information about the generational backgrounds of the current Alaska State Legislature.
The 34th Alaska House of Representatives
Below is information covering age dynamics in the recently elected Alaska House of Representatives.
- the average age of Alaska House members is 52.61 years
- the youngest Representative was born in 1996
- the oldest Representative was born in 1950
- 5 Representatives are Young Elected Leaders age 35 or younger as of Election Day 2024
Generational Breakdown
Within the 34th Alaska House, all Representatives come from the Millennial generation, Generation X or the Baby Boomer generation, with Generation X being the largest group. The split of generational representation is fairly even across these three groups. Significantly, following the 2024 Election in Alaska, no members have been elected from Generation Z or younger generations. Scroll below to see how these generations breakdown.
Partisanship in the 34th Alaska House
The chart below further breaks down the current partisan makeup of the 34th Alaska 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, showing how younger legislators are positioned across party lines.
Partisan dynamics in the 34th Alaska House reflect not only ideological differences but also generational contrasts. The visual below highlights one key distinction: the average age of legislators by party. While both parties include a mix of experience levels, Democratic members of the House are, on average, younger than their Republican counterparts. This difference may reflect broader trends in political recruitment, generational turnover, and candidate emergence in recent election cycles.
Young Elected Representatives – Alaska House
Following the 2024 State Legislative Elections in Alaska, five members aged 35 or under were elected to the 34th Alaska House of Representatives. Below are all five 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 Alaska House | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
David Nelson (R) | 18th District – Anchorage, AK | 1996 (Age 28) | 2024 |
 |
Genevieve Mina (D) | 19th District – Anchorage, AK | 1996 (Age 28) | 2022 |
 |
Ashley Carrick (D) | 35th District – Fairbanks, AK | 1992 (Age 32) | 2022 |
 |
Robyn Niayuq Burke (D) | 40th District – Barrow, AK | 1991 (Age 33) | 2024 |
 |
Calvin Schrage (I) | 12th District – Anchorage, AK | 1991 (Age 33) | 2020 |
Photos courtesy of Alaska State Legislature member roster
Gender in the 34th Alaska House of Representatives
The 34th Alaska House of Representatives reflects a range of age and gender dynamics that help shape the composition of the state’s legislative body. Just over 52% of members are women, while men make up the remaining 48%. Age differences between these groups are notable: female Representatives had an average age of 52.29 at the time of the election, compared to 52.97 for their male colleagues.
When examining both gender and party affiliation, additional differences in age emerge within the Alaska House. On average, Republican women are the oldest group of legislators, with a mean age of 56.55 years. In contrast, Democratic women are the youngest, averaging 46.30 years. Democratic and Republican men fall between these extremes, averaging 53.26 and 52.77 years respectively. These patterns show that age representation in the Alaska Legislature is varied by both gender and partisan alignment, highlighting varying pathways to political office across demographic groups.
Race and Ethnicity in the 34th Alaska House of Representatives
The racial and ethnic composition of the 34th Alaska House of Representatives varies significantly across generations. While White legislators make up just over half of the chamber overall, younger generations show greater racial and ethnic diversity than older cohorts. This table highlights how race and ethnicity intersect with age in shaping the diversity of the legislative body.
Generations by Race/Ethnicity in the 34th Alaska House
|
Generation Z 1997 – |
Millennial Generation
1981 – 1996 |
Generation X
1965 –1980 |
Boomer Generation
1946 – 1964 |
Silent Generation
1928 – 1945 |
Full Chamber | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White/Caucasian | – | 9
(81.82%) |
11
(73.33%) |
13
(92.86%) |
1
(100%) |
33
(82.5%) |
| Black/African American | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Hispanic/Latino | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Asian/Pacific American | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Indian/Native American | – | 1
(9.09%) |
1
(6.67%) |
– | – | 2
(5%) |
| Other | – | – | 1
(6.67%) |
– | – | 1
(2.5%) |
| Two or More Ethnicities | – | – | 1
(6.67%) |
– | – | 1
(2.5%) |
| Missing | – | 1
(9.09%) |
1
(6.67%) |
1
(7.14%) |
– | 3
(7.5%) |
| Total (Precent of Alaska House) | – | 11
(38.33%) |
15
(37.5%) |
14
(35%) |
– | 40
(100%) |
The 34th Alaska Senate
Below is information covering age dynamics in the recently elected Alaska Senate.
• the youngest Senators are Jesse Bjorkman & Forrest Dunbar who were both born in 1984
• the oldest Senator is Gary Lee Stevens who was born in 1941
• 0 Senators are Young Elected Leaders age 35 or younger as of Election Day 2024
Young Elected Senators in the 34th Alaska Senate
As of the 2024 election no young senators aged 35 and under have been elected to the Alaska Senate
Partisanship in the 34th Alaska Senate
In the 57th Alaska Senate, 11 Senators belong to the Republican Party, and 9 Senators are Democrats. The median age of Republican State Senators after the 2024 election was 58.61. The median age of Democratic State Senators after the 2024 election was 57.89. Each generation had different a partisan makeup, below is the breakdown of the party composition for each generation within the 34th Alaska Senate.
Gender in the 34th Alaska Senate
Race and Ethnicity in the 34th Alaska Senate
The racial and ethnic composition of the 34th Alaska Senate reveals generational variation in representation. Following the 2024 election 80% (16/20) of the current Alaska Upper Chamber is White. While the remaining 20% is represented by different ethnicities. Scroll below to see the current Racial/Ethnic breakdown by generation in the Alaska Senate.
Generations by Race/Ethnicity in the 34th Alaska Senate
| Millennial Generation | Generation X | Boomer Generation | Silent Generation | Full Chamber | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 3 (75%) | 5 (71.43%) | 7 (87.5%) | 1 (100%) | 16 (80%) |
| Asian/Pacific American | – | 1 (14.29%) | – | – | 1 (5%) |
| Black/African American | – | – | 1 (12.5%) | – | 1 (5%) |
| Two or More Ethnicities | 1 (25%) | – | – | – | 1 (5%) |
| Missing | – | 1 (14.29%) | – | – | 1 (5%) |
| Total | 4 (20%) | 7 (35%) | 8 (40%) | 1 (5%) | 20(100%) |
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 Alaska 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 34th Alaska State Legislature