The savior of the U.S. doesn't want the job
Millennials resist running for office
The government is dysfunctional, and millennials want no part of it.
Harvard University's Institute of Politics (IOP), which has an ongoing poll of millennials, found that young people from age 18 to 29 have little faith in Congress and the federal government, preferring to spend their volunteer efforts on non-governmental missions.
When political science professors Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox asked more than 4,000 high school and college students if they would be interested in running for political office in America in the future, 89 percent of them said "no."
Shauna Shames, an assistant professor of political science at Rutgers University-Camden, did a study of more than 700 top graduate students in law and public policy to see if they were interested in becoming political candidates.
They were not.
Madeleine Li, a junior, said, “I don’t see the point of running for two different reasons. One, quite frankly, I see a lot more opportunities in doing community service; there are a lot of things that the government isn’t responsible for or at the moment aren’t focussing on. The second is that the bureaucracy has become convoluted to the point that no decisions are being made because everyone is so opposed to everyone else.”
This reluctance to run for office reflects millennials disenchantment with politics as a whole.
“If I were to run, I feel like I would need to subscribe to a certain way of thinking. It would be easier to not have to go through a party system so that I can express and work toward my ideas even when they don’t fall along party lines,” said Li.
Many millennials are concerned with the lack of privacy surrounding public figures. Not only are the elected officials themselves under almost constant scrutiny, but their families are as well.
“The idea that your life is under a microscope and every decision you make will be judged and second-guessed is a real turn-off,” said Zach Wong, a junior.
Others see politics as corrupt and are skeptical about their ability to effect change through politics, especially with the time politicians spend fundraising.
In an interview with CBS News, David Jolly, a former representative from Florida’s 13th district, explained how every day, members of congress spend hours on the phone asking for donations for their campaign and party. According to Jolly, congressmen are told that their first responsibility is to raise money. In fact, Jolly said, the schedule for the House of Representatives is partly arranged around fundraising.
“Even if you could raise all of this money, there’s something that feels icky about the macro process of so much money being involved in politics. It has this tinge of corruption that then pervades the work that you would do,” said Shames.
In light of the fact that bitter partisanship has made it increasingly difficult for legislation to be passed, many millennials feel that the government is inefficient and incapable of getting anything done. For example, in 2013, the U.S. government was shut down when Congress couldn’t agree on a spending bill to fund the government.
In an interview with The Atlantic, Shames said that students told her that running for office was comparable to “selling your soul” or that “you would have to be crazy to run for office” and “I’m a very results-oriented person, and I’d just rather not bother with a headache.”
However, major issues in today’s political sphere including racial and gender equality, national security, and environmental conservation all require governmental support and action. Ignoring politics doesn’t make politics go away.
Carrie Welter, a junior, said, “Politics are risky waters, and people can get very passionate about their beliefs. I don’t want to start an argument over something I’m not well informed on. I wouldn’t run for office because I believe there is a better spokesperson for issues I’m passionate about.”
According to Lawless, there are approximately 500,000 elected offices that America needs filled every year.
“We’re not concerned that no one will run for them. We’re concerned that the candidates will be the type of people who aren’t interested in bringing about a better system,” said Lawless in an interview with Time.
For many young people, the costs of becoming an elected official equal or outweigh the benefits. Yet a strong government needs strong leadership. Millennials’ lack of interest in running is concerning to many as it jeopardizes the future of American politics.
In an interview with U.S.News, Dan Glickman, a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said, "For enterprising young people who want to make a difference, that's not very appealing. That's really harmful, long term, for the political system. You can't have a strong country if you have a disengaged population. That's an opening for demagoguery of the worst sort."
Many believe that in order to correct the current situation, the nation needs to stress the opportunity to affect positive change that running for office provides. Additionally, by connecting politics to issues that matter to the youth, the current generation may be motivated to run for office.
Shames said, “But here’s my greatest hope: Young people will suddenly start to see more rewards to political participation. It’s not that those rewards weren’t there. But Millennials haven’t had to think about them before—like the reward of living in a democracy.”
Despite the trend of the younger generation turning away from elected positions, some do see the value of entering the arena.
Casey Felton, a junior, said, “I would run for Senate because I truly enjoy government policy and theory and feel that too often we elect inept leaders. I believe that by running for office, I could walk the walk, truly doing all in my power to positively impact the nation. If I can best serve my country in public office, then it is my duty to heed the call.”
Harvard University's Institute of Politics (IOP), which has an ongoing poll of millennials, found that young people from age 18 to 29 have little faith in Congress and the federal government, preferring to spend their volunteer efforts on non-governmental missions.
When political science professors Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox asked more than 4,000 high school and college students if they would be interested in running for political office in America in the future, 89 percent of them said "no."
Shauna Shames, an assistant professor of political science at Rutgers University-Camden, did a study of more than 700 top graduate students in law and public policy to see if they were interested in becoming political candidates.
They were not.
Madeleine Li, a junior, said, “I don’t see the point of running for two different reasons. One, quite frankly, I see a lot more opportunities in doing community service; there are a lot of things that the government isn’t responsible for or at the moment aren’t focussing on. The second is that the bureaucracy has become convoluted to the point that no decisions are being made because everyone is so opposed to everyone else.”
This reluctance to run for office reflects millennials disenchantment with politics as a whole.
“If I were to run, I feel like I would need to subscribe to a certain way of thinking. It would be easier to not have to go through a party system so that I can express and work toward my ideas even when they don’t fall along party lines,” said Li.
Many millennials are concerned with the lack of privacy surrounding public figures. Not only are the elected officials themselves under almost constant scrutiny, but their families are as well.
“The idea that your life is under a microscope and every decision you make will be judged and second-guessed is a real turn-off,” said Zach Wong, a junior.
Others see politics as corrupt and are skeptical about their ability to effect change through politics, especially with the time politicians spend fundraising.
In an interview with CBS News, David Jolly, a former representative from Florida’s 13th district, explained how every day, members of congress spend hours on the phone asking for donations for their campaign and party. According to Jolly, congressmen are told that their first responsibility is to raise money. In fact, Jolly said, the schedule for the House of Representatives is partly arranged around fundraising.
“Even if you could raise all of this money, there’s something that feels icky about the macro process of so much money being involved in politics. It has this tinge of corruption that then pervades the work that you would do,” said Shames.
In light of the fact that bitter partisanship has made it increasingly difficult for legislation to be passed, many millennials feel that the government is inefficient and incapable of getting anything done. For example, in 2013, the U.S. government was shut down when Congress couldn’t agree on a spending bill to fund the government.
In an interview with The Atlantic, Shames said that students told her that running for office was comparable to “selling your soul” or that “you would have to be crazy to run for office” and “I’m a very results-oriented person, and I’d just rather not bother with a headache.”
However, major issues in today’s political sphere including racial and gender equality, national security, and environmental conservation all require governmental support and action. Ignoring politics doesn’t make politics go away.
Carrie Welter, a junior, said, “Politics are risky waters, and people can get very passionate about their beliefs. I don’t want to start an argument over something I’m not well informed on. I wouldn’t run for office because I believe there is a better spokesperson for issues I’m passionate about.”
According to Lawless, there are approximately 500,000 elected offices that America needs filled every year.
“We’re not concerned that no one will run for them. We’re concerned that the candidates will be the type of people who aren’t interested in bringing about a better system,” said Lawless in an interview with Time.
For many young people, the costs of becoming an elected official equal or outweigh the benefits. Yet a strong government needs strong leadership. Millennials’ lack of interest in running is concerning to many as it jeopardizes the future of American politics.
In an interview with U.S.News, Dan Glickman, a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said, "For enterprising young people who want to make a difference, that's not very appealing. That's really harmful, long term, for the political system. You can't have a strong country if you have a disengaged population. That's an opening for demagoguery of the worst sort."
Many believe that in order to correct the current situation, the nation needs to stress the opportunity to affect positive change that running for office provides. Additionally, by connecting politics to issues that matter to the youth, the current generation may be motivated to run for office.
Shames said, “But here’s my greatest hope: Young people will suddenly start to see more rewards to political participation. It’s not that those rewards weren’t there. But Millennials haven’t had to think about them before—like the reward of living in a democracy.”
Despite the trend of the younger generation turning away from elected positions, some do see the value of entering the arena.
Casey Felton, a junior, said, “I would run for Senate because I truly enjoy government policy and theory and feel that too often we elect inept leaders. I believe that by running for office, I could walk the walk, truly doing all in my power to positively impact the nation. If I can best serve my country in public office, then it is my duty to heed the call.”