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See the Young Elected Leaders in the 116th United States Senate

The Louisiana State Legislature

The Legislature consists of two chambers: a 39-member Senate and a 105-member House of Representatives. The most recent election for the State Legislature was November 21, 2015. The next election will take place November 16, 2019. In order to qualify to run for either house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the candidate must be at least eighteen years old.

 

Louisiana Demographic Background

The largest generations in Louisiana are the Millennial Generation and Generation X, each consisting of about 20% of the population.1,2 The smallest generation is the Silent Generation, consisting of about 10% of the population. About 59% of people in Louisiana are White, 32% are Black or African American, 5% are Hispanic or Latino, and about 2% are Asian.3

Generational Breakdown of the Louisiana State Legislature

Nearly 7% of members of the Louisiana House of Representatives are Millennials. About 3% of members of the Louisiana State Senate are Millennials. The largest generation represented in the Louisiana state legislature is the Baby Boomer Generation, comprising about 50% of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and about 60% of the Louisiana Senate. The generational breakdown of the legislature is unrepresentative of the generational breakdown of the state of Louisiana, where the largest generations are the Millennial Generation and Generation X.

The mean age of a Louisiana state legislator is 57.6. There are four Young Elected Leaders. 

 

Generational Composition of the Louisiana State Legislature

 

Generational Breakdown of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Generation Number of Members % of Total Members
Millenial Generation 7 6.67%
Generation X 36 34.29%
Baby Boomer Generation 52 49.52%
Silent Generation 7 6.67%
NA* 3 2.90%

Note: *Indicates state legislators for whom there is no birth date on record.

  • The average age of the Louisiana House of Representatives is 56.6
  • The youngest member is 31 years old (Julie Emerson)
  • The oldest members are 79/80 years old (Frank A. Howard and Dorothy Sue Hill)
  • Four individuals are Young Elected Leaders
    • Julie Emerson, age: 31
    • Dustin Miller, age: 31
    • Stephanie Hilferty, age: 33
    • John Stefanski, age: 35
Generational Breakdown of the Louisiana Senate
Generation Number of Members % of Total Members
Millenial Generation 1 2.56%
Generation X 9 23.08%
Baby Boomer Generation 24 61.54%
Silent Generation 5 12.82%
NA* 0 0.00%
  • The average age of the Louisiana Senate is 60.4 years
  • The youngest member is 36 years old (Richard J. Ward III)
  • The oldest member is 77 years old (Francis C. Thompson)
  • There are no Young Elected Leaders in the Louisiana Senate

Gender Breakdown of the Louisiana State Legislature

Women are vastly underrepresented in the Louisiana state legislature: Approximately 15% of members of the Louisiana House of Representatives and 13% of members of the Louisiana Senate are female. There is no difference in the average age between male and female legislatures.

There are two male Young Elected Leaders and two female Young Elected Leaders in the Louisiana House of Representatives.

 

Gender of Louisiana House Representatives

 

Gender by Generation in the Louisiana House of Representatives

 

Gender of the Louisiana State Senate

 

Gender by Generation in the Louisiana Senate

Ethnic Breakdown of the Louisiana State Legislature

About 25% of members of each chamber of the Louisiana state legislature are Black/African-American. This is reflected in the four Young Elected Leaders in the Louisiana House of Representatives, one of which is Black/African-American, while the other three are White/Caucasian. Blacks/African-Americans are slightly underrepresented in the Louisiana State Legislature compared to the Louisiana state population, and there is no Latino or Asian representation.

 

Ethnicity by Generation in the Louisiana House of Representatives

 

Ethnicity of the Louisiana State Senate

 

Ethnicity by Generation in the Louisiana State Senate

Partisan Breakdown of the Louisiana State Legislature

A majority of the Louisiana House of Representatives and Louisiana State Senate are Republicans. Out of the 4 Young Elected Leaders in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1 is a Democrat and the rest are Republicans.

 

Partisanship of the Louisiana House of Representatives

 

Partisanship by Generation of the Louisiana House of Representatives

 

 

Partisanship of the Louisiana State Senate

 

Partisanship by Generation of the Louisiana State Senate

 

Notes

  1. 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 April 2019 and was conducted on May 25, 2019.

See the Young Elected Leaders in the 116th United States Senate