Factsheet

Young Political Leaders in Connecticut

Young Candidates for Congress 2020

Number of candidates from Connecticut 18
Average age of candidates 52.50
Number of candidates age 35 or younger 3
The youngest candidate Damon Cerreta
born 1991
NA
running for a third party or as an Independent
Number of female candidates 5 (27.78%)
Average age of female candidates 56.60
Average age of male candidates 50.64
Average age of Democratic candidates 58.50
Average age of Republican candidates 48.80
Connecticut Candidates for Congress 2020: Generations
Generations Number of Candidates
Boomer Generation 5
Generation X 7
Millennial Generation 3
Silent Generation 1
NA 2

Young Candidates for Congress 2018

Number of candidates from Connecticut 21
Average age of candidates 52.40
Number of candidates age 35 or younger 1
The youngest candidate Fred Linck
born 1988
White
running for a third party or as an Independent
Number of female candidates 5 (23.81%)
Average age of female candidates 55.25
Average age of male candidates 51.36
Average age of Democratic candidates 58.67
Average age of Republican candidates 51.25
Connecticut Candidates for Congress 2018: Generations
Generations Number of Candidates
Boomer Generation 6
Generation X 6
Millennial Generation 2
Silent Generation 1
NA 6

Young Elected Leaders in the 116th Congress

Number of legislators from Connecticut 7
Average age of legislators 62.57
Number of legislators age 35 or younger 0
The youngest legislator Chris Murphy
born 1973
White
member of the Democratic Party
Number of female legislators 2 (28.57%)
Average age of female legislators 62.00
Average age of male legislators 62.80
Average age of Democratic legislators 62.57
Average age of Republican legislators NaN
Connecticut Members of the 116th Congress: Generations
Generations Number of Congressmembers
Boomer Generation 3
Generation X 3
Silent Generation 1

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

Descriptive statistics on candidates for Congress 2018 and 2020 are based only on those candidates who passed their primaries or who ran as Independent/write-in candidates. The numbers for the 116th Congress are based on data from August 2020.

YELP collects birthday data from a variety of sources such as campaign websites, personal profiles, news articles, voter guides, and from direct contact with candidates and elected officials. However it is not always possible to find information for all. In the case of Connecticut, data on candidates 2020 is 88.89 % complete, data on candidates 2018 is 71.43 % complete, and we have 100.00 % of birthyears for Congressmembers.