Ready for the World: These eight young lawmakers, all moved by different issues, couldn't wait till 'someday' to run for office.

• Author: Griffin, Kelley
• Position: LEGISLATOR PROFILES

The nation's youngest state legislators set their sights early. One was volunteering for U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley at age 11; another campaigned for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders at 13. None of them were even out of college when they got elected. Each is motivated by different issues: health care, education, economic equality, gun rights, taxes, the environment.

Surrounded by colleagues old enough to be their parents, even grandparents, they've heard many comments about their youth--mostly skeptical.

"I affectionately joke that if I had a nickel for every time someone makes a comment about my age, everyone in my district would be comfortably retired," Montana Rep. Braxton Mitchell says.

New Hampshire Rep. Tony Labranche says people decided his youth disqualified him without even knowing him. He turned 19 just after he was elected in 2020. "One of my opponents even said on Election Day that in her eyes, I was a 9-year-old boy," Labranche says.

Rhode Island Rep. David Morales, who at 21 is the nation's youngest Latino state legislator, says when he campaigned, people assumed he was a volunteer. But he had already completed his undergraduate studies and his master's in public policy from Brown University by the time he ran. The knowledge he brought to his conversations with voters convinced people he was serious. He says the skeptics can be won over.

"You can quickly change that perception by feeling passionate about your ideas and presenting them unapologetically with the facts and with the evidence," Morales says.

Youth Can Be a Plus

Sen. Will Haskell of Connecticut--the youngest senator in a U.S. legislature--ran at age 22 and replaced a representative who had been in office since before Haskell was born. He wanted to see new policies and heeded the call when he heard President Barack Obama say, "If you're disappointed in your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself."

Haskell says he knew he lacked life experience but adds, "No legislator can know everything about every issue, so it's on all of us to listen and learn."

A couple of legislators consider their youth a plus.

Iowa Rep. Carter Nordman admits there was some concern about his age: He was 22 when he ran. "But by far, while I was (knocking on) doors around my district, I heard, 'I love seeing young people running and getting involved,'" he says.

And Rep. Kalen Haywood of Wisconsin, who was elected at 19 in 2018, says every age group brings something to the table.

"We need to take the energy and innovativeness of young people and marry that with wisdom of our elders," she says.

Like many young legislators, Norm Dakota Rep. Claire Cory wants to see more of her peers joining the ranks. So she's working with a group offering support to hundreds who say they want to run, including personally mentoring an 18-year-old Montana woman.

The nation's youngest Black state legislator, West Virginia Del. Caleb Hanna, was elected three years ago at age 19. He was inspired by Obama, but with a father who got laid off from a coal mine a few years back, Hanna decided he aligns with Republicans. He's never been daunted by seeking office at a young age.

"A lot of people say that young people are the future," Hanna says. "But in reality, we're the now."

Read on to learn more about these legislative up-and-comers.

Rep. Claire Cory

Youngest woman ever elected to her state's legislature

* R-North Dakota

* Born: Sept. 11,1998

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