Meet the millennial lawmakers who have helped drop the Senate’s average age - to 63

When the 120th U.S. Congress convenes in January 2027, the cohort of Senators entering the upper chamber will include a group of millennials and young Gen Xers in what has been hailed a “generational change.”The relative youth of the senators-elect, mostly Democrats, has nudged down the Senate’s average age from 64 to 63. The newly-elected lawmakers are nearly 15 years younger on average than the outgoing senators, according to analysis by The New York Times. (The analysis assumes that Mary Peltola, 53, and Scott Colom, 43, will win their respective Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi, where votes are still being counted.)And while the incoming senators might have only dropped the average age a smidge, the significance of the shift following hard-fought midterms shouldn’t be underestimated, experts said. “For years, voters have been shouting from the rooftops that their government is too old,” Caroline Welles, executive director of The First Ask nonprofit and a former Democratic National Committee executive, told The Independent. “They finally had the opportunity to make their voices heard at the ballot box.”Across both chambers, at least 101 Gen Zers and millennials have been elected to Congress this cycle, according to Future Caucus. Many voters agree that Congress is too old, with 8 in 10 Americans in favor of setting age caps and term limits, according to recent polling. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa (left) is the oldest sitting senator at 93. Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, 84, (right) is set to retire when his current term ends in January after being dogged by ailing health (Getty)The average age of the incoming senators is approximately 55 in contrast to the oldest sitting lawmakers in the Senate. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa is the oldest at 93, followed by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont at 85. Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, 84, is set to retire when his current term ends in January after being dogged by ill health.The millennials (30 - 45)Enter 37-year-old James Talarico, the Texas Democrat who will snatch the title of youngest sitting senator from 39-year-old Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff when he is sworn in next year. Ossoff comfortably kept his seat in the midterms, while Talarico delivered a stunning upset to Republicans by becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Texas since 1988. He beat Republican Ken Paxton, 63, with 55.1 percent of the vote.Talarico, a former public school teacher, is set to join an exclusive club of senators (which includes former President Joe Biden) sworn in under the age of 40 since 1900, the Times noted. In Michigan, progressive Democrat Dr Abdul El-Sayed, 42, won over swaths of young male voters to defeat 63-year-old Republican Mike Rogers. “Abdul embodies what it means to be a Millennial,” his campaign noted, adding that he had embraced social media campaigning. “Abdul’s willingness to try a trend, lean into the right amount of cringe, and just have fun created the perfect conditions to generate over 1 billion views on social media in the past 11 months.”Millennial progressive Democrats James Talarico and Abdul El-Sayed won Senate races in Texas and Michigan. Talarico is set to join an exclusive club of senators sworn in under the age of 40 since 1900 (Getty)Julia Letlow, Louisiana’s 45-year-old senator-elect, narrowly defeated Democrat Jamie Davis, 56. She was endorsed by the Louisiana Young Republicans (Getty)Republicans also have a millennial in their Senate ranks to brag about. Julia Letlow is Louisiana’s 45-year-old senator-elect after narrowly defeating Democrat Jamie Davis, 56. Born in 1981, Letlow, who was endorsed by the Louisiana Young Republicans, is on the cusp of qualifying as an older millennial. “Our state’s future is bright with young leaders who are ready to step up and serve,” Letlow said at a campaign event.Young Gen Xers (46 - 53)Five of the incoming senators are under the age of 54, making them young Gen Xers. Most are Democrats but former Kentucky Representative Andy Barr sneaks into the demographic at 53 years old. Voters elected Barr to succeed retiring Senator McConnell who has represented Kentucky in the chamber since 1985. Barr directly appealed to the Bluegrass state’s younger voters on the campaign trail. “This campaign to me has to be a testament to community, has to be testament to young leaders, to voices across Kentucky who feel ignored and forgotten about,” he said.Democrat Annie Andrews, 46, beat 62-year-old Darline Graham, the sister of the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, in South Carolina’s Senate race (Getty)Elsewhere, Democrats Annie Andrews and Chris Pappas, both 46, won their Senate seats in South Carolina and New Hampshire, respectively. Andrews beat 62-year-old Darline Graham, the sister of the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, while Pappas beat Republican John E. Sununu, also 62, by a wide margin. In Minnesota, 47-year-old Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American woman elected to the Senate after seeing off the GOP’s Michele Tafoya, 61. Flanagan was the youngest person ever to serve on the Minneapolis school board after being elected at 25. There were more firsts in Iowa. Two-time Paralympic gold medalist Josh Turek, 47, became the first Democrat in the Hawkeye state to hold a Senate seat in more than a decade. He will serve alongside Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who is almost twice Turek’s age at 93. If Senate seats are called for Alaska’s Mary Peltola and Mississippi’s Scott Colom, they will join their fellow young Gen Xers in the upper chamber in January.Two-time Paralympic gold medalist Josh Turek, 47, became the first Democrat in Iowa to hold a Senate seat in more than a decade (Reuters)Older Gen Xers (54 - 61) and Boomers (62-80)Four older Gen Xers and five Baby Boomers make up the rest of the Senate freshmen, with a fairly even mix of Republicans and Democrats.Among the more mature Gen X camp are Republicans Barry Moore, 60, of Alabama, and 60-year-old Kurt Alme of Montana. And for the Democrats there’s Juliana Stratton of Illinois, 61, and 58-year-old Troy Jackson of Maine, who unseated Republican Senator Susan Collins, the longest serving Republican woman in Senate history.The oldest of the incoming senators is 74-year-old Sherrod Brown, who won back the Ohio Senate seat he previously held from 2007 to 2025. Brown beat Jon Husted, 59, the Ohio senator whose rear was publicly admired by President Donald Trump on the campaign trail. Husted argued that Brown was out of date and too liberal for Ohio voters - an argument that ultimately failed.Democratic Illinois senator-elect Juliana Stratton, 61, is among the group of Gen Xers to join the upper chamber in January (Reuters)Democrat Adam Hamilton, 62, beat incumbent Roger Marshall in Kansas, while 69-year-old Democrat Roy Cooper won comfortably in North Carolina. Cooper made young people a central part of his campaign, going on a tour of the state titled “Make Stuff Cost Less.”The GOP’s Kevin Hern of Oklahoma and Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, both 64, won seats in their respective Republican stronghold states.While the rise of younger senators has been celebrated, political analysts and academics had some advice for lawmakers who apparently don’t know when to quit. “Stepping aside with grace and humility is a good option,” said Jacqueline Salit, an Arizona State University professor and co-director of the school’s Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy. “The optimism and energy of the young and younger cohort is astounding.”“Public service is not a lifetime appointment,” added Welles. “Sometimes the best thing you can do for the American people is recognize when it's time to step aside and make room for the next generation.”