Factsheet

Young Political Leaders in Massachusetts

Young Candidates for Congress 2020

Number of candidates from Massachusetts 21
Average age of candidates 53.88
Number of candidates age 35 or younger 2
The youngest candidate Jonathan Lott
born 1992
White
running for a third party or as an Independent
Number of female candidates 8 (38.10%)
Average age of female candidates 48.83
Average age of male candidates 56.64
Average age of Democratic candidates 56.30
Average age of Republican candidates 50.80
Massachusetts Candidates for Congress 2020: Generations
Generations Number of Candidates
Boomer Generation 9
Generation X 5
Millennial Generation 3
NA 4

Young Candidates for Congress 2018

Number of candidates from Massachusetts 19
Average age of candidates 53.94
Number of candidates age 35 or younger 0
The youngest candidate Joe Kennedy
born 1980
White
running for the Democratic Party
Number of female candidates 6 (31.58%)
Average age of female candidates 51.80
Average age of male candidates 54.83
Average age of Democratic candidates 54.80
Average age of Republican candidates 53.00
Massachusetts Candidates for Congress 2018: Generations
Generations Number of Candidates
Boomer Generation 9
Generation X 8
NA 2

Young Elected Leaders in the 116th Congress

Number of legislators from Massachusetts 11
Average age of legislators 58.36
Number of legislators age 35 or younger 0
The youngest legislator Joe Kennedy
born 1980
White
member of the Democratic Party
Number of female legislators 4 (36.36%)
Average age of female legislators 55.25
Average age of male legislators 60.14
Average age of Democratic legislators 58.36
Average age of Republican legislators NaN
Massachusetts Members of the 116th Congress: Generations
Generations Number of Congressmembers
Boomer Generation 7
Generation X 4

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 Massachusetts, data on candidates 2020 is 80.95 % complete, data on candidates 2018 is 89.47 % complete, and we have 100.00 % of birthyears for Congressmembers.