List of the youngest state legislators in the United States
This is a list of the youngest individuals elected or appointed to a state legislature in the United States.
Overview[]
The National Conference of State Legislatures estimates that only 5% of state legislators are under the age of 30.[1]
List[]
Name | State | Political Party | Date of Birth | Age Upon Taking Office | Tenure | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saira Blair | West Virginia | Republican | July 11, 1996 | 18 years, 176 days | Jan 3, 2015 - December 1, 2018 | Her father, Craig Blair, is a member of the West Virginia Senate. He previously represented the same House of Delegates district in which his daughter was elected. |
Jacob Bachmeier | Montana | Democratic | Jan 29, 1998 | 18 years, 339 days[2] | Jan 2, 2017 - January 4, 2021 | |
Tony Labranche[1][3] | New Hampshire | Democratic | November 11, 2001 | 19 years, 22 days | Dec 3, 2020 - Present | Currently the youngest elected New Hampshire legislator as well as the youngest openly gay state representative in the United States |
Josh Holstein | West Virginia | Republican | November 2, 2001 | 19 years, 31 days | Dec 7, 2020-Present | |
Joe Sweeney | New Hampshire | Republican | Nov 8, 1993 | 19 years, 27 days | Dec 5, 2012 - Present | |
Caleb Hanna | West Virginia | Republican | October 29, 1999 | 19 years, 44 days | Dec 1, 2018 - Present | The youngest African-American in America to be elected to a state legislature[4] |
Jack Uhde | Montana | Democratic | August 27, 1957 | 19 years, 129 days[2] | January 3, 1977 - ?? | Youngest member in history of the Montana House of Representatives |
Kalan Haywood | Wisconsin | Democratic | June 5, 1999 | 19 years, 157 days | January 2019–present | Youngest member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. |
Jesse Laslovich | Montana | Democratic | October 3, 1980 | 20 years, 92 days[2] | Jan 3, 2001 - Feb 10, 2010 | |
Joseph Stallcop | New Hampshire | Democratic | May 7, 1996 | 20 years, 214 days | Dec 7, 2016 - Aug 6, 2018 | Switched party to Libertarian. |
Caleb Dyer | New Hampshire | Republican | May 5, 1996 | 20 years, 216 days | Dec 7, 2016 - Present | Switched party to Libertarian. The only Libertarian floor leader in the United States. |
Braxton Mitchell | Montana | Republican | May 20, 2000 | 20 years, 229 days[5] | Jan 4, 2021 - Present | |
Claire Cory | North Dakota | Republican | September 11, 1998 | 21 years, 30 days[6] | October 11, 2019 - Present | |
Amber Mariano | Florida | Republican | Nov 1, 1995 | 21 years, 32 days[7] | Dec 3, 2016 - Present | Her father is a county commissioner in Pasco County, Florida. |
Patrick J. Kennedy | Rhode Island | Democratic | July 14, 1967 | 21 years, 171 days | Jan 1, 1988 - Jan 3, 1993 | Later the youngest member of the House during the 104th Congress. |
Drew Christensen | Minnesota | Republican | May 21, 1993 | 21 years, 230 days | Jan 6, 2015 - Jan 7, 2019 | |
Tulsi Gabbard | Hawaii | Democratic | Apr 12, 1981 | 21 years, 234 days | 2002-2004 | Daughter of Mike Gabbard, who was elected to the Honolulu City Council the same year |
Jewell Jones | Michigan | Democratic | Apr 11, 1995 | 21 years, 265 days[8] | Jan 1, 2017 - Present | Youngest legislator in Michigan history |
Jeramey Anderson | Mississippi | Democratic | Dec 6, 1991 | 21 years, 355 days | Nov 26, 2013 - Present | Upon being sworn into the Mississippi House of Representatives, he became youngest African-American state legislator in the United States at the time. |
Sherrod Brown | Ohio | Democratic | Nov 9, 1952 | 22 years, 55 days | Jan 3, 1975 - Dec 31, 1982 | Later Ohio Secretary of State (1983-1991) and United States Senator from Ohio (2007-present) |
Ryan Fecteau | Maine | Democratic | Sep 18, 1992 | 22 years, 76 days | Dec 3, 2014 - Present | |
Christina Hagan | Ohio | Republican | Dec 11, 1988 | 22 years, 81 days | Mar 2, 2011 - Present | Her father, John Hagan, previously represented the district[9] |
David Morales | Rhode Island | Democratic | Sep 16, 1998 | 21 years, 107 days | Jan 2021 - Present | Youngest Latino legislator in the history of the United States[10] |
Avery Bourne | Illinois | Republican | Nov 30, 1992 | 22 years, 77 days | Feb 15, 2015 - Present | Originally appointed to Illinois House of Representatives; elected 2016 |
Adam Putnam | Florida | Republican | July 31, 1974 | 22 years, 97 days | Nov 5, 1996 - Nov 7, 2000 | Later Baby of the House during the 107th Congress and 108th Congress. |
Bakari Sellers | South Carolina | Democratic | Sep 18, 1984 | 22 years, 113 days | Jan 9, 2007 - Jan 6, 2015 | |
Will Haskell | Connecticut | Democratic | Jun 28, 1996 | 22 years, 195 days | Jan 2019 - Present | Defeated incumbent Republican who had served since before he was born |
Josie Tomkow | Florida | Republican | Oct 15, 1995 | 22 years, 198 days | Jan 2019 - Present | Youngest legislator in Florida |
Carter Nordman | Iowa | Republican | May 27, 1998 | 22 years, 229 days[11] | Jan 11, 2021 - Present | Des Moines, Iowa Resident Carter Nordman assumed office on January 11th, 2021 |
Lauren Plawecki | Michigan | Democratic | Jan 29, 1994 | 22 years, 305 days | Nov 29, 2016 - Jan 1, 2017 | Elected in special election to succeed her mother Julie in the Michigan House of Representatives. She was succeeded by the winner of the general election Jewell Jones. |
Edgar Gonzalez Jr. | Illinois | Democratic | Dec 25, 1996 | 23 years, 16 days | Jan 10, 2020 - Present | Youngest Latino and youngest Democrat in Illinois history. Originally appointed to Illinois House of Representatives; elected 2020. |
Josh Svaty | Kansas | Democratic | Nov 7, 1979 | 23 years, 62 days | Jan 8, 2003 - July 14, 2009 | Kansas House of Representatives |
Ben Cardin | Maryland | Democratic | Oct 5, 1943 | 23 years, 92 days | Jan 5, 1967 - Jan 6, 1987 | Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates and later U.S. Representative and United States Senator |
Jennifer Sullivan | Florida | Republican | Aug 1, 1991 | 23 years, 97 days | Nov 6, 2014 - Present | |
Julian Ivey | Maryland | Democratic | Aug 3, 1995 | 23 years, 169 days | Jan 2019 - Present | |
Aaron Schock | Illinois | Republican | May 28, 1981 | 23 years, 229 days | Jan 12, 2005 - Jan 3, 2009 | Later Baby of the House during the 111th Congress and 112th Congress |
Corey Mock | North Dakota | Democratic | Feb 17, 1985 | 23 years, 288 days | Dec 1, 2008 - Present | Minority Leader of the North Dakota House of Representatives since 2014. |
John King[12] | Illinois | Republican | Feb 15, 1927 | 23 years, 334 days[13] | Jan 15, 1951 - Jan 15, 1957 | Youngest person elected to Illinois House of Representatives in its history at the time of his election. |
James Monroe | Virginia | Anti-Federalist | Apr 28, 1758 | 23 years, 338 days | Apr 1, 1782 - June 1782 | Founding Father of the United States and U.S. President |
Marilinda Garcia | New Hampshire | Republican | Jan 1, 1983 | 23 years, 339 days | Dec 6, 2006 - Dec 3, 2008 | Later served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from April 29, 2009 to December 2, 2014. |
Kylie Oversen | North Dakota | Democratic | Feb 3, 1989 | 23 years, 340 days | Jan 8, 2013 - Dec 5, 2016 | Elected Chair of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL at 26, making her the youngest U.S. state party chair at the time.[14] |
Greg Jergeson | Montana | Democratic | Dec 29, 1950 | 24 years, 5 days[2] | Jan 3, 1975 - Jan 3, 1980 | Later served two additional tenures in the Montana Senate; 1987–2003 and 2013-2015 |
Romaine Quinn | Wisconsin | Republican | July 30, 1990 | 24 years, 157 days | Jan 3, 2015 - Present | Elected Mayor of Rice Lake, Wisconsin at 19. |
Corey Parent | Vermont | Republican | Jul 8, 1990 | 24 years, 183 days | Jan 2015-Present | Elected to Vermont House of Representatives in 2014; elected to Vermont State Senate in 2018. |
Emily Cain | Maine | Democratic | Mar 29, 1980 | 24 years, 278 days | Jan 1, 2005 - December 5, 2012 | Maine House of Representatives Minority Leader 2008-2010; in 2012 elected to State Senate, served until 2014; currently the executive director of EMILY's List |
Calvin Say | Hawaii | Democratic | Feb 1, 1952 | 24 years, 337 days | Jan 3, 1977 - Present | Later Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives |
Cleo Fields | Louisiana | Democratic | Nov 22, 1962 | 25 years, 40 days | Jan 1, 1988 - Jan 1, 1993 | Later Baby of the House during the 103rd Congress |
Gouverneur Morris | New York | Federalist | Jan 30, 1752 | 25 years, 222 days | Sep 9, 1777 - Jun 30, 1778 | Founding Father of the United States and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution |
References[]
- ^ "Aundré Bumgardner: Carrying the Hopes of His Party on His Slender Shoulders".
- ^ a b c d Fraser, Jayme (December 5, 2016). "New Montana lawmaker will be the youngest serving state legislator in America". Billings Gazette. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ "Tony Labranche". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
- ^ Matthis Johnson, Susan (January 6, 2019). "Youngest black legislator in America ready to get to work for WV". Charleston Gazette-Mail.
- ^ "Flathead County sees record voter turnout of 81%". 4 November 2020.
- ^ "Representative Claire Cory | North Dakota Legislative Branch". www.legis.nd.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "I Got Rejected from Harvard. Then I Won a State Election". 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Jewell Jones is the youngest black state lawmaker in America".
- ^ Robert Wang (March 1, 2011). "Christina Hagan to replace Snitchler in 50th". Archived from the original on March 5, 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
- ^ "Soledad native David Morales is the youngest Latino state lawmaker in the country. He has some advice for youth back home".
- ^ "Carter Nordman will make history today, becoming the youngest Iowa House Representative".
- ^ King IV, John M.; Dooley, Carylyn K.; King, Mark M.; Rogers, Sally K. (January 20, 2016). "John King 1927-2016". Denver Post. Denver Colorado: Legacy.com. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
- ^ Howard, Robert (October 15, 1950). "Mrs. O'Neill Favored for State Senate: Fights Hard to Take Barr's Seat". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois – via ProQuest.
- ^ Reininga, Ben (2015-03-24). "She Runs The Democratic Party In A Super-Red State (& She's 26)". Refinery29. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
See also[]
Categories:
- Youth rights