Gen Z is having a hard time getting elected to Congress. The Hill reports that more than 100 Gen Z candidates have made a bid to run for Congress, but very few have actually won. According to Future Caucus, in previous elections only one in six candidates were under 45-years-old, but now, it’s one in three. But Gen Z candidates are more likely than older candidates to run outside the two major parties, making it statistically harder to secure a win, and they raise less money than incumbents and established political figures. However, Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old in Colorado, is an exception—she took the primary in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District this year, knocking off the longtime incumbent. While most other Gen Z candidates did not make it past the primaries, some Gen Z candidates will be on the November ballot. And interestingly, “[t]he fact that so many of them are running outside the traditional true party system tells us that there’s a lot more nuance in their views and the issues that they’re running on than you might assume.” (The Hill)
👀 Read more from YPulse: Gen Z’s Outlook on the 2026 Midterm Elections
