Factsheet

Young Political Leaders in Iowa

Young Candidates for Congress 2020

Number of candidates from Iowa 13
Average age of candidates 51.77
Number of candidates age 35 or younger 1
The youngest candidate Abby Finkenauer
born 1988
White
running for the Democratic Party
Number of female candidates 8 (61.54%)
Average age of female candidates 51.62
Average age of male candidates 52.00
Average age of Democratic candidates 49.60
Average age of Republican candidates 51.00
Iowa Candidates for Congress 2020: Generations
Generations Number of Candidates
Boomer Generation 4
Generation X 7
Millennial Generation 2

Young Candidates for Congress 2018

Number of candidates from Iowa 17
Average age of candidates 51.00
Number of candidates age 35 or younger 3
The youngest candidate Daniel Clark
born 1991
White
running for a third party or as an Independent
Number of female candidates 2 (11.76%)
Average age of female candidates 41.50
Average age of male candidates 52.27
Average age of Democratic candidates 46.75
Average age of Republican candidates 60.00
Iowa Candidates for Congress 2018: Generations
Generations Number of Candidates
Boomer Generation 8
Generation X 6
Millennial Generation 3

Young Elected Leaders in the 116th Congress

Number of legislators from Iowa 6
Average age of legislators 60.50
Number of legislators age 35 or younger 1
The youngest legislator Abby Finkenauer
born 1988
White
member of the Democratic Party
Number of female legislators 3 (50.00%)
Average age of female legislators 45.67
Average age of male legislators 75.33
Average age of Democratic legislators 51.67
Average age of Republican legislators 69.33
Iowa Members of the 116th Congress: Generations
Generations Number of Congressmembers
Boomer Generation 2
Generation X 2
Millennial Generation 1
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 Iowa, data on candidates 2020 is 100.00 % complete, data on candidates 2018 is 100.00 % complete, and we have 100.00 % of birthyears for Congressmembers.