To: Mr. Reince Priebus, Chair, Republican National Committee and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chair, Democratic National Committee
Start Investing in Millennials for Public Office
We are calling on our two major political parties to adopt policies to recruit, invest, and support young, progressive candidates for elected office.
Why is this important?
If you want to invest in the future, you must invest in the future generation. 10,000 Millennials turn 21 every day, totaling 95 million of the U.S. population. By 2015 they will make up the majority of the American workforce. Millennials make up 30% of the LGBT population. Further, 39% are people of color, and over 75% are socially networked, and vast majorities support the Dream Act, marriage equality, fair labor standards, and access to education. These voices are diverse, abundant, and educated, but are not being represented in our politics.
If you want to move the country forward, you must have progressive leadership. We know investing in young candidates works—over half of members of Congress were elected before the age of 35—but the median age of a Member of Congress has actually risen steadily since 1981 and our current Congress is one of the oldest in U.S. history. Our political infrastructure is risk averse, and it continues to reward politicians who maintain the status quo, rather than invest in a new generation of representatives who will be accountable to our nation's progressive values.
We call upon our political establishment to champion young, progressive candidates who will become our nation's future public servants and political leaders. Regardless of party identification, progressive voices need to be empowered. A new progressive generation can lead the way. We ask the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee to adopt policies in their party platforms to recruit and support young, progressive candidates from top to down ballot races.