Youth Will Be Served in Governor’s Race

Sara Rodriguez, David Crowley, Mandela Barnes, Josh Kaul, Kelda Roys, Josh Schoemann, Bill Berrien, Tom Tiffany.

Almost as soon as Gov. Tony Evers announced that he would not run for reelection, his Lt Governor Sara Rodriguez released an online video announcing her run for the position. The video was notable for its humor (“I’ve got two kids that are way too embarrassed to be in this video,” Rodriguez joked) and down-to-earth style, but the mostly striking thing was her youthful energy.

Rodriguez, 49, is nearly a quarter century younger than Evers, 73, but looks a lot younger than her age. The video showed her walking fast down a sidewalk and looking very fit while firing off bullet points of her qualifications and policies.

And Rodriguez is actually the oldest of the Democratic candidates seeking to run the state. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who quickly followed Rodriguez with his own announcement, is 39, or 34 years younger than Evers.

Other possible candidates include former Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes, 38, Wisconsin Attorney Josh Kaul, 44,  and state Sen. Kelda Roys, 46. Every one of them is a generation younger than Evers.

On the Republican side, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, 43, fits into that group, while businessman Bill Berrien 56, would be the oldest candidate in the race. That is, unless Republican congressman Tom Tiffany, 67, still considering a run, decides to do so. Then there’s former governor Scott Walker, now 57, who teased a run on the social media site X, only to back off within a couple days. Why? I’m guessing some of the top GOP donors told him his time has passed.

Evers boasted that he would have won reelection, had he run, and most Democratic strategists agreed. Mid-term elections have traditionally seen the president in power lose seats in Congress, and the 2026 election could be particularly tough for Republicans, given polls showing how unpopular President Donald Trump’s policies are.

But there was some concern among younger and more progressive Democrats about reelecting Evers. As one veteran Democratic strategist told Urban Milwaukee, the concern was that Evers would be serving until age 79 and it might turn into a Joe Biden scenario, where Evers looked too old and too out of it, while a younger generation of Democrats are already “chomping at the bit to run.”

Many of those Democrats signed a statement, crafted just a day before Evers’ retirement announcement, declaring that the next Democratic candidate for governor should back a long list of progressive policies, including “a fully funded public education system… the guarantee of child care for every working Wisconsin family… tackling climate change… immediately moving to a $20 minimum wage; and maximizing collective bargaining rights.” Notably, the statement did not mention Evers and those signing included some state legislators, Milwaukee County Supervisors and other local officials in various cities.

If the declaration suggested some restiveness among Democrats, it reflects a trend seen nationally, with younger party members upset by what has been termed “the Gerontocracy” ruling in Washington DC.

“When the current Congress was convened in January, there were nearly 120 members who were 70 or older — 86 in the House, including nonvoting delegates, and 33 in the Senate,” the New York times reported. “This number, which is unmatched in modern history, included 14 octogenarians in the House, five in the Senate, and 91-year-old Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa… The contentious matter of age is particularly acute among Democrats in the House, who had nearly double the members 70 or older that the Republicans did at the beginning of this term. ”

Evers was a Wisconsin example of that national trend and Zoran Mamdani‘s landmark upset in the Democratic primary for New York City Mayor is seen as the antidote. In the two weeks after the election of  Mamdani, just 33, “nearly 10,000 people have reached out to Run for Something expressing interest in running for office,” noted a statement by the national nonprofit, whose mission is “Recruiting and Supporting Young Progressives.”

“Zohran’s victory has lit a fire under a generation of aspiring leaders—and we’re seeing it spread rapidly,” said Amanda Litman, co-founder and President of Run for Something. “Young people are ready to move past a generation of failed leadership and are taking the reins.”

“More than 55,000 young people have signed up to run with group since Trump’s election” and “the organization’s total pipeline now exceeds 200,000 potential candidates nationwide,” the nonprofit noted.

A study by the Democratic Party has shown that it is losing ground with voters under age 30, particularly male voters. Until the 2024 election this group had been seen as a particular strength for Democrats. Not any more.

The most obvious way for the party to show its relevance to younger voters is stop supporting candidates old enough to be the grandparents of voters under 30. The new group of Democratic candidates for governor will be sending a powerful message simply by noting their age.