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
- 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.