MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
A growing number of young Democratic candidates are stepping up to run for Congress. Many are calling for generational change. They say they are fed up with their party's current leaders. Now, on the other side of the aisle, young Republicans appear to be following a different playbook. NPR political reporter Elena Moore has been looking into this. Hi, Elena.
ELENA MOORE, BYLINE: Hey.
KELLY: Start with the numbers. Roughly how many young people are we talking about who are currently running for Congress?
MOORE: Yeah, well, the word young is relative in politics, but let's start with those under 40. I've counted roughly...
KELLY: So young, Elena.
MOORE: (Laughter) I know, I know.
KELLY: They're young (laughter).
MOORE: Well, you know, roughly 20...
KELLY: Roughly, OK.
MOORE: ...Democrats in their 20s and 30s. We'll just go away - we don't need the word 40 in there.
KELLY: Yeah.
MOORE: But on the Republican side, I've only been able to track down one candidate, and that's Mason Foley. He's 28, and he's running in a special election this year to represent Tennessee's 7th District after Republican Congressman Mark Green resigned. He's a long shot, but that's pretty typical for new candidates running in a crowded field. Still, his campaign does give us an idea of the young Republican pitch for Congress. Take a listen to his announcement video.
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MASON FOLEY: President Trump's legislative policies are making real progress. But he needs a new generation of conservative leaders to step up and help finish what he started. We have to put the American dream back in reach.
MOORE: So you hear there, he's calling for a new generation, but he's also staying positive about Trump.
KELLY: OK, so that's the one young Republican who, so far, you've tracked down and confirmed is throwing his hat in. What about young Democrats?
MOORE: Well, many call for new blood in Congress as well, but the big difference is how they talk about their own party. Many young Democrats say they're frustrated with both Trump and Democratic leaders. Of the 20 or so candidates I've noticed - noted so far, half are literally challenging incumbents from their own party, including longtime leaders like Nancy Pelosi. You know, some Republicans see that as part of the reason why there hasn't been an influx of young conservatives launching bids. Hayden Padgett feels that way. He's the chairman of the Young Republican National Federation.
HAYDEN PADGETT: There's just not the same level of rudderless discontent. I hear all the time from young Democrats, like, oh, our party isn't fighting enough. On our side, we do feel like our members of Congress are fighting their good fight.
KELLY: So it sounds like the young Republicans, overall, more positive about their party and how it's doing and how it's conducting itself. But Elena, being happy with your party and being politically ambitious are not mutually exclusive.
MOORE: Oh, yeah. And, I mean, it's still early. We could very well see more bids in the coming months. But at the same time, you know, Democrats and Republicans might just have different long-term strategies for bringing in folks. You know, I talked to Adam Pennings about that. He's the executive director of Run Gen Z, which helps young conservatives run for state and local office.
ADAM PENNINGS: We have young people who are in state House and state Senate and county commissioner seats waiting in the wings for when their congressman, when he steps down or she steps down. Then they'll step up. Whereas on the other side, it's a lot more of trying to fight in, maybe even, some might say, dog eat dog.
MOORE: He also says that when young Republicans do step up, they're more welcomed into the party than young Democrats are.
KELLY: And what about young voters, just briefly?
MOORE: Well, young voters have traditionally been seen as a solid Democratic voting bloc, but in 2024, we saw that wasn't completely true. A majority of folks under 30 voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris, but Trump made serious gains with this group compared to previous years. It's also worth noting that, you know, there's a real generational divide happening in the Democratic Party right now. You know, when looking at the current House of Representatives, both parties have about the same number of millennial members. Yes, the youngest member of Congress is a Democrat. He's 28. But the party also has a much larger share of members over 80, outnumbering Republicans 13 to 4.
KELLY: Elena Moore, thank you.
MOORE: Thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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