The Arizona State Legislature

The Arizona State Legislature is bicameral and has 90 members. Thirty senators belong to the Senate, 60 representatives belong to the House of Representatives. The last election took place on November 6, 2018. The Arizona State Legislature maintains age requirements for candidacy; Senate: 25 years of age, House: 25 years of age.

 

Arizona Demographic Background

Arizona’s generational makeup is similar to the U.S. as a whole. The largest generation is the Baby Boomer Generation with about 24%, followed by the Millennial Generation (21%).1, 2 Almost 20% belong to Generation X. The Silent Generation is the smallest (12.2%).

Arizona is a very diverse state.3 The largest ethnic group is White/Caucasian with about 56%, followed by Hispanic/Latino (about 30%). Almost 5% of the population is Black/African American. More than 9% belong to other ethnicities or more than one ethnicity.

Generational Breakdown of the Arizona State Legislature

The largest generation represented in the Arizona State Legislature is the Baby Boomer Generation. With over 46%, Baby Boomers are overrepresented. The second largest generation is Generation X, which is overrepresented as well (about 29%). Millennials and the Silent Generation are underrepresented with 16.4% and 8.22%, respectively. The average Arizona legislator is 54 years old. There are 11 Young Elected Leaders in the state legislature.

 

Generational Breakdown of the Arizona House of Representatives
Generation Number of Members % of Total Members
Millenial Generation 8 13.33%
Generation X 13 21.67%
Baby Boomer Generation 21 35.00%
Silent Generation 3 5.00%
NA* 15 25.00%

Note: *Indicates state legislators for whom there is no birth date on record.

  • The average age of the Arizona House of Representatives is almost 53 years
  • The youngest member is 26 years old (Alma Hernandez)
  • The oldest member is 84 years old (Jay Lawrence)
  • Seven individuals are Young Elected Leaders
    • Alma Hernandez (26)
    • Andres Cano (27)
    • Daniel Hernandez Jr. (29)
    • Athena Salman (30)
    • Cesar Chavez (31)
    • Reginald Bolding (32)
    • Thomas Ray Shope Jr. (33)
Generational Breakdown of the Arizona Senate
Generation Number of Members % of Total Members
Millenial Generation 4 13.33%
Generation X 8 26.67%
Baby Boomer Generation 13 43.33%
Silent Generation 3 10.00%
NA* 2 6.67%

Note: *Indicates state legislators for whom there is no birth date on record.

  • The average age of the Arizona Senate is 56 years
  • The youngest member is 30 years old (Tyler Pace)
  • The oldest member is 77 years old (Andrea Dalessandro)
  • Four individuals are Young Elected Leaders
    • Tyler Pace (30)
    • Juan Jose Mendez (33)
    • Otoniel Navarrete (33)
    • Sean Bowie (35)

Gender Breakdown of the Arizona State Legislature

Women are underrepresented in the Arizona State Legislature. There are 35 female state legislators in Arizona (38.9%) and 55 male state legislators (61.1%). On average, female state legislators are a bit older than male legislators. The average age for women in the Arizona State Legislature is 56, for men it is 52.5 years. Two Young Elected Leaders are female, 9 are male.

 

Gender by Generation of the Arizona State Legislature

 

Gender in the Arizona House of Representatives

 

Gender by Generation in the Arizona House of Representatives

 

Gender of Young Elected Leaders in the Arizona House of Representatives

Two of the seven Young Elected Leaders in the House are female, 5 are male.

 

Gender in the Arizona Senate

 

Gender by Generation in the Arizona Senate

 

Gender of Young Elected Leaders in the Arizona Senate

All four Young Elected Leaders in the Senate are male.

Ethnic Breakdown of the Arizona State Legislature

About 62% of the Arizona state legislature is White/Caucasian. Almost 28% of the legislators are Hispanic/Latino. There are only 3 Black/African American legislators (3.4%). Other/multiple ethnicities are underrepresented as well with about 6.7%.

 

Ethnicity of the Arizona State Legislature

 

Ethnicity and Generation of the Arizona State Legislature

 

Ethnicity and Generation of the Arizona House of Representatives

Ethnicity of Young Elected Leaders in the Arizona House of Representatives

Of the seven YELs in the House, one is Black/African American and 6 are Hispanic/Latino.

 

Ethnicity and Generation of the Arizona Senate

Ethnicity of Young Elected Leaders in the Arizona Senate

Two of the YELs in the Senate are Hispanic/Latino, 2 are White/Caucasian.

Partisan Breakdown of the Arizona State Legislature

The Arizona State Legislature has a slight Republican majority of 53.3%. Among Young Elected Leaders, the vast majority (9 of 11) are Democrats. Only 2 YELs are Republicans.

In the House of Representatives, there are 29 Democrats and 31 Republicans. In the Senate, the Republican majority is slightly larger, with 17 Republicans to 13 Democrats.

 

Partisanship by Generation of the Arizona State Legislature

 

Partisanship by Generation of the Arizona House of Representatives

 

Partisanship of Young Elected Leaders in the Arizona House of Representatives

Six of the 7 Young Elected Leaders in the House are Democrats. Only one YEL is Republican.

 

Partisanship by Generation of the Arizona Senate

Partisanship of Young Elected Leaders in the Arizona Senate

Three of the 4 Young Elected Leaders in the House are Democrats. Only one YEL is Republican.

Notes

  1. The Young Elected Leaders Project collects and analyzes data on young elected officials across the country. We define Young Elected Leaders as officials 35 years and younger. We define the generations following the Pew Research Center:
  • Generation Z: 1997-2012
  • Millennial Generation: 1981-1996
  • Generation X: 1965-1980
  • Baby Boom Generation: 1946-1964
  • Silent Generation: 1928-1945

2. Single Years of Age and Sex, 2010, US Census.

3. Geographic and Housing Estimates (Age, Sex, Race, Households and Housing, …) 2017, US Census.

This analysis is based on data from April 2019 and was conducted on April 16, 2019.

See the Young Elected Leaders in the 116th United States Senate