Teens in the Statehouse.

• Author: Grise, Chrisanne
• Position: Caleb Hanna, Cassandra Levesque, Kalan Haywood and other teenage politicians

Meet three young people who recently won election to their state legislatures. Why did they run, and what do they hope to accomplish?

In 2017, six teen boys announced they were running for governor of Kansas. At ages 16 and 17, they weren't even old enough to vote yet--but at the time, there was no minimum age requirement to become the state's chief executive.*

The teens knew success was unlikely.

"The day a 17-year-old wins governor of any state will be the day pigs fly," Joseph Tutera Jr., one of the candidates, said during the campaign. But "hey, we're here, we've got ideas."

Although none of the boys ended up winning, the race was indicative of a growing movement of young people who want a say in deciding issues that affect their lives, such as climate change, minimum-wage rates, and gun control. Last year, more teens began campaigning for seats in their state and local governments--and several went on to win.

"My generation wants to be part of solving the issues," says Kalan Haywood, 19, who was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in November. "Politics has been made cool."

These three lawmakers won their state races as teens last fall and were recently sworn into office. Now the real work begins.

'Kansas has since passed a law that candidates must be at least 25 years old.

CALEB HANNA, Age at election: 19

West Virginia House of Delegates

Hometown: Richwood, WV * Party: Republican

One evening last November, Caleb Hanna sat with his parents in a McDonald's, anxiously awaiting election results. The 19-year-old had campaigned heavily for a seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates, knocking on hundreds of doors in an attempt to reach every Republican in his district.

The odds were seemingly against him--but by 10:30 that night, Hanna learned he'd toppled the Democratic incumbent by 25 percentage points. He celebrated with a burger and fries.

Hanna first became interested in politics when Barack Obama won the White House in 2008. Like many African-Americans, he recalls his excitement at seeing "someone who looks like me become president." But he soon soured on Obama's policies; by 2012, he was a Mitt Romney fan.

In high school, Hanna tested out politics by serving first as class president and then as president of the student body.

As a Republican in the capitol, he plans to concentrate on education. For starters, he wants to introduce a technical course that will prepare middle schoolers for future careers.

"There are a lot of...