Factsheet

Young Political Leaders in Missouri

Young Candidates for Congress 2020

Number of candidates from Missouri 31
Average age of candidates 52.30
Number of candidates age 35 or younger 5
The youngest candidate Audrey Richards
born 1993
White
running for a third party or as an Independent
Number of female candidates 12 (38.71%)
Average age of female candidates 47.67
Average age of male candidates 56.09
Average age of Democratic candidates 51.43
Average age of Republican candidates 54.29
Missouri Candidates for Congress 2020: Generations
Generations Number of Candidates
Boomer Generation 10
Generation X 4
Millennial Generation 5
Silent Generation 1
NA 11

Young Candidates for Congress 2018

Number of candidates from Missouri 33
Average age of candidates 49.82
Number of candidates age 35 or younger 4
The youngest candidate Benjamin Brixey
born 1993
NA
running for a third party or as an Independent
Number of female candidates 8 (24.24%)
Average age of female candidates 57.25
Average age of male candidates 45.57
Average age of Democratic candidates 53.00
Average age of Republican candidates 51.50
Missouri Candidates for Congress 2018: Generations
Generations Number of Candidates
Boomer Generation 8
Generation X 6
Millennial Generation 6
Silent Generation 2
NA 11

Young Elected Leaders in the 116th Congress

Number of legislators from Missouri 10
Average age of legislators 59.90
Number of legislators age 35 or younger 0
The youngest legislator Jason Smith
born 1980
White
member of the Republican Party
Number of female legislators 2 (20.00%)
Average age of female legislators 59.00
Average age of male legislators 60.12
Average age of Democratic legislators 70.00
Average age of Republican legislators 57.38
Missouri Members of the 116th Congress: Generations
Generations Number of Congressmembers
Boomer Generation 7
Generation X 2
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 Missouri, data on candidates 2020 is 64.52 % complete, data on candidates 2018 is 66.67 % complete, and we have 100.00 % of birthyears for Congressmembers.