75% of gen Zers believe that their generation will change the world according to research from Wunderman Thompson Intelligence’s “Gen Z: Building a Better Normal” report. At the same time, they have lost faith in politicians and the current political climate: 73% don’t trust the government to protect them, 71% don’t believe that the government cares about them, and 71% also believe that the government is failing the American people. Now, they’re entering the world of politics to make change on their own terms.
Young politicians are making change across the United States.
In November, Florida’s 10th Congressional District voted in the first gen Z member of Congress: Maxwell Alejandro Frost. At 25 years old, Frost has served as a top organizer for March for Our Lives and the American Civil Liberties Union. He defeated 72 year old Republican Calvin Wimbish with a campaign that focused on ending gun violence, protecting abortion rights, combating climate change, and supporting Medicare for all.
25 year old Republican Karoline Leavitt of New Hampshire won in her primary in September and ran for the state’s First Congressional District against two-term Democratic congressman Chris Pappas. Pappas won the election in November, defeating Leavitt.
Joe Vogel, another 25 year old activist, was elected to the Maryland General Assembly in November. An immigrant from Uruguay, Vogel is Jewish and Latino and is gay, all aspects that he attributes to the unique perspective he brings to his political standing. Vogel worked on campaigns for Joe Biden, Cory Booker, and Hillary Clinton. In January, he will serve Montgomery County’s Rockville and Gaithersburg in Annapolis alongside incumbent state delegates Kumar Barve and Julie Palakovich Carr as a Democrat with a focus on education, mental health, and addressing hate crimes.
Generation Z has taken political action into their own hands, redirecting their activist energy directly into political discourse. Brands and organizations should acknowledge that, in order to connect with gen Z consumers, they need to include them in critical conversations and decisions – and generation Z is ready to talk.
Main image of Maxwell Alejandro Frost, courtesy of Twitter.
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