The Florida State Legislature
The Legislature consists of two chambers: a 40-member Senate and a 120-member House of Representatives. There are currently 3 vacant seats. The most recent election for the state legislature was November 6, 2018. The Florida State Legislature maintains age requirements for candidacy; Senate: 21 years of age, House: 21 years of age.
Florida Demographic Background
The largest generation in Florida is the Baby Boomer Generation, consisting of about 26% of the population. The smallest generation is the Silent Generation, consisting of about 14% of the population. 1, 2 About 55% of people in Florida are White, 25% are Hispanic or Latino, and 15% are Black or African American.3
Generational Breakdown of the Florida State Legislature
About 25% of members of the Florida House of Representatives are Millennials, and 7.5% of members of the Florida State Senate are Millennials. The largest generations represented in the Florida State Legislature are the Baby Boomer Generation and Generation X. This is quite representative of the generational composition of the state of Florida, where the largest generation is the Baby Boomer Generation. However, Baby Boomers are overrepresented in the Senate. The mean age for legislators is 50. Senators are on average 8 years older than Representatives.
Generational Breakdown of the Florida House of Representatives
| Generation | Number of Members | % of Total Members |
| Millenial Generation | 29 | 24.78% |
| Generation X | 50 | 42.74% |
| Baby Boomer Generation | 37 | 31.62% |
| Silent Generation | 1 | 0.85% |
| NA* | 0 | 0.00% |
Note: *Indicates state legislators for whom there is no birth date on record.
- The average age of the Florida House of Representatives is 48
- The youngest member is 23 years old (Josie Tomkow)
- The oldest member is 74 years old (Sam H. Killebrew)
- Fifteen individuals are Young Elected Leaders:
- Jay N. Trumbull Jr.
- Tyler Isaac Sirois
- Lawrence McClure
- Bryan Avila
- Ramon Jermaine Alexander
- Jennifer Mae Sullivan
- Anthony Frank Sabatini
- Christopher Sprowls
- Anthony Rodriguez
- Daniel Anthony Perez
- Michael Paul Beltran
- Robert Alexander Andrade III
- Josie Tomkow
- Amber Lynn Mariano
- Anna V. Eskamani
Generational Breakdown of the Florida State Senate
| Generation | Number of Members | % of Total Members |
| Millenial Generation | 3 | 7.50% |
| Generation X | 17 | 42.50% |
| Baby Boomer Generation | 18 | 45.00% |
| Silent Generation | 2 | 5.00% |
| NA* | 0 | 0.00% |
Note: *Indicates state legislators for whom there is no birth date on record.
- The average age of the Florida Senate is 56
- The youngest member is 34 years old (Lauren Frances Book)
- The oldest member is 76 years old (George Broward Gainer)
- Two individuals are Young Elected Leaders
- Travis J. Huston, age: 34 years old
- Lauren Frances Book, age: 34 years old
Gender Breakdown of the Florida State Legislature
Only 30% of the Florida state legislature is comprised of women. There are no significant differences between the House and the Senate in terms of gender representation. Female legislators are on average 1.5 years older than their male colleagues.
About 73% of Young Elected Leaders in the Florida House of Representatives are male. There is one female and one male YEL in the Florida Senate.
Gender by Generation in the Florida House of Representatives
Gender by Generation in the Florida State Senate
Ethnic Breakdown of the Florida State Legislature
About 66% of the Florida House of Representatives is comprised of White/Caucasian members. A little less than 20% of Florida House Representatives are Black/African-American. About 72% of the Florida State Senate is comprised of White/Caucasian members, 15% is made up of Black/African-American members, and 12.5% is made up of Hispanic/Latino members. Hispanics are slightly underrepresented in the Florida state legislature compared to the Florida state population.
Ethnicity of the Florida House of Representatives
Ethnicity by Generation in the Florida House of Representatives
Ethnicity of Young Elected Leaders in the Florida House of Representatives
| Ethnicity | Number of Members |
| White/Caucasian | 11 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 3 |
| Black/African-American | 1 |
Ethnicity of the Florida State Senate
Ethnicity by Generation in the Florida State Senate
Partisan Breakdown of the Florida State Legislature
A majority of the members of the Florida House of Representatives and Florida State Senate are Republican. Thirteen of the 15 Young Elected Leaders in the Florida House of Representatives are Republican, while there is one Democratic and one Republican Young Elected Leader in the Florida State Senate.
Partisanship by Generation of the Florida House of Representatives
Partisanship by Generation of the Florida State Senate
Notes
- The Young Elected Leaders Project collects and analyzes data on young elected officials across the country. We define Young Elected Leaders as officials 35 years and younger. We define the generations following the Pew Research Center:
- Generation Z: 1997-2012
- Millennial Generation: 1981-1996
- Generation X: 1965-1980
- Baby Boom Generation: 1946-1964
- Silent Generation: 1928-1945
2. Single Years of Age and Sex, 2010, US Census.
3. Geographic and Housing Estimates (Age, Sex, Race, Households and Housing, …) 2017, US Census.
This analysis is based on data from February 2019 and was conducted on May 10, 2019.