Factsheet
Young Political Leaders in West Virginia
Young Candidates for Congress 2020
| Number of candidates from West Virginia | 10 |
| Average age of candidates | 52.44 |
| Number of candidates age 35 or younger | 3 |
| The youngest candidate | Paula Swearengin |
| born 1991 | |
| White | |
| running for the Democratic Party | |
| Number of female candidates | 7 (70.00%) |
| Average age of female candidates | 45.33 |
| Average age of male candidates | 66.67 |
| Average age of Democratic candidates | 33.75 |
| Average age of Republican candidates | 64.75 |
| Generations | Number of Candidates |
|---|---|
| Boomer Generation | 3 |
| Generation X | 1 |
| Millennial Generation | 4 |
| Silent Generation | 1 |
| NA | 1 |
Young Candidates for Congress 2018
| Number of candidates from West Virginia | 12 |
| Average age of candidates | 54.44 |
| Number of candidates age 35 or younger | 0 |
| The youngest candidate | Talley Sergent |
| born 1981 | |
| White | |
| running for the Democratic Party | |
| Number of female candidates | 3 (25.00%) |
| Average age of female candidates | 50.00 |
| Average age of male candidates | 56.67 |
| Average age of Democratic candidates | 50.25 |
| Average age of Republican candidates | 59.25 |
| Generations | Number of Candidates |
|---|---|
| Boomer Generation | 3 |
| Generation X | 5 |
| Millennial Generation | 1 |
| NA | 3 |
Young Elected Leaders in the 116th Congress
| Number of legislators from West Virginia | 5 |
| Average age of legislators | 66.40 |
| Number of legislators age 35 or younger | 0 |
| The youngest legislator | Alex Mooney |
| born 1971 | |
| Hispanic/Latinx | |
| member of the Republican Party | |
| Number of female legislators | 2 (40.00%) |
| Average age of female legislators | 68.50 |
| Average age of male legislators | 65.00 |
| Average age of Democratic legislators | 73.00 |
| Average age of Republican legislators | 64.75 |
| Generations | Number of Congressmembers |
|---|---|
| Boomer Generation | 4 |
| Generation X | 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 West Virginia, data on candidates 2020 is 90.00 % complete, data on candidates 2018 is 75.00 % complete, and we have 100.00 % of birthyears for Congressmembers.