Millennial Action Project (MAP) announced today the launch of its policy Innovation Lab, a fulcrum for policy education and bridge-building that connects the dots between the next generation of legislators and politically diverse experts and thought leaders to support bipartisan collaboration and innovative policymaking on key issues.
Gen Z and millennials have high hopes for the future. Except when it comes to politics.
State Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland) represented Michigan at a Millennial Action Project conference in early August to discuss the future of the nation and the challenges it will face.
On a January day more than 10 years ago, I first stood beneath the rotunda of the Mississippi state Capitol as an elected representative of the people of my hometown.
Capitol View host Roby Brock met with St. Rep. Jamie Scott (D-North Little Rock) and St. Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R-Knoxville) of the Future Caucus to discuss the recent ruling by the State Supreme Court on the Arkansas LEARNS Act. They also highlighted what the Future Caucus has tackled in this session.
Through Millennial Action Project (MAP)’s network of local chapters, called Future Caucuses, Gen Z and millennial lawmakers are already building bridges and working on policy solutions together. Elected officials ranging from progressive to conservative are a part of these effective groups, and today we count 34 Future Caucuses and 1,600 young lawmakers as a part of this movement.
Between 2022 and 2023, the number of young people under the age of 26 serving in state legislatures swelled by 170%, according to data from Millennial Action Project. This generation of lawmakers will bring with them their experience of being at the forefront of the country’s gun violence epidemic.
Vermont lawmakers launched the cross-party Future Caucus with the Millennial Action Project, a group focused on encouraging younger people to pursue politics, in 2015 to unify lawmakers under 45 years old and encourage younger individuals to run for office. But in June of last year, only 24 of the 150 state legislators were under 45.
To that end, MAP helps young state legislators—generally under 45—form “Future Caucuses” with bipartisan leadership to explore how to work together to get things done. So far, there are Future Caucuses in more than 30 states, focused on issues such as affordable housing, college tuition rates, voting reforms and access to health care.
Four leaders of the Oklahoma Future Caucus, a project aligned with the Millennial Action Project, spoke at a recent roundtable panel about how they work together and avoid the pitfalls of highly polarized rhetoric and behavior often seen at the state Capitol.
Brock met with Rep. Jamie Scott and Rep. Aaron Pilkington of the Arkansas Future Caucus, a part of the Millennial Action Project. MAP seeks to connect young leaders on either side of the political aisle. They both speak on what they hope to achieve and what they want to see from the legislative session, despite their political differences.
Washington Post columnist Philip Bump examined how baby boomers have impacted the U.S economy and political system and how future generations will fare. He was interviewed by Millennial Action Project president Layla Zaidane.
“We actually tracked this past election cycle,” said Layla Zaidane, president of the Millennial Action Project. “[There were] 261 Gen Z candidates who ran for state legislative office. In 2023, there're about 75 who actually won, who are serving in state legislative office. That's compared to 27, the year before.”
