Young and Hungry: Econ Major Looks to Shake Up 2026 Congressional Race

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Voters across the nation have reported in exit polls and online that they think the average age of their elected leaders is far too high. One Rutgers Camden student is aiming to change that, at least for the voters of New Jersey’s 12th congressional district.

In an email circulated to select student organizations on November 14th, Economics major and prospective Class of 2026 graduate, Carlos Rodriguez, announced that he is seriously contemplating a run for the seat of Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, who herself announced that she would not be running for the 119th Congress beginning in 2027. The email listed several motivating factors and his contact information as well as prospective next steps and interest forms for interested students.

His efforts come at a time of increased political activity in the Garden State, with the recent 2025 gubernatorial race showing the highest turnout in over twenty years: in Camden County alone there was a 10% surge in voters to a total of 48% of all registered voters. A youthful candidate could be very welcome to the newly awakened voters of the country.

Andrew Hoover, a Political Science major, when hearing about the potential new candidate, had the following to say: “I’m interested how this person is younger, and I’m very- that’s very appealing, as I believe younger people should get involved in politics.”

If his intentions are true and he if wins, he would be particularly young compared to his contemporaries: the average age of members in the House of Representatives is around 63 years old per congress.gov. However, the tide towards younger members is growing, especially with the recent election of 28-year-old Maxwell Frost in Florida.

Rodriguez, with his birthday in December, would only have been of age to legally serve in congress for around a month at the time of his swearing in, should he win election. He’s also no stranger to politics, having once previously ran for his local board of education when he was twenty years old.

The reasons he thinks it is necessary were outlined in his email. Among them, inflation and falling purchasing power as well as a lack of job prospects, a lack of home options for younger generations, and an entrenched political system. “The issues that plague the country, plague New Jersey, plague our generation, are federal issues that have to be solved at a federal level. That’s the reason I’m jumping into this race.”

His focus now is putting together a team that will help him run, which he plans to oversee from a custom Discord server among other places. The Discord, named Project Olympus to allude to the Greek Gods who were eaten by their father Cronos to prevent them from assuming power, is supposed to evoke a similar overthrowing of entrenched older powers.

“I think a lot of older folks can underestimate what younger people can do, and I’m not going to underestimate what my peers can do.” He reports around 20 people have approached him within the first week of his announcement, and so far around 5 have been slotted into volunteer roles.

Knowing that moving from a life of relative anonymity to a life in the public eye as an elected official would be a very big change, Carlos said: “It’s terrifying for many reasons, but I think it’s necessary.”

When asked if he thought his youth could be a liability, he said: “I think it would be a lie to say that isn’t a risk or an attack factor, but I think historically speaking, young people are the ones that really kind of move the needle in history” and cited the examples of Joan of Arc, Alexander the Great, Mary Shelley, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Notable details from Rodriguez are a refusal to take donations from corporate sources or other wealthy backers as well as a stated intent to resist federal immigration activity. A signature piece of policy, he said, would be a ban on false or fluffed up job listings.

“I think we’ve all kind of felt the pain of getting our data harvested by submitting our resume for a job we thought was exciting and then it turning out not to have been a legit opportunity. I think that’s deceptive, I think that’s fraudulent, and I think that the government needs to crack down on that,” he remarked on the issue.

Newcomers in state elections usually have worse odds than incumbents, and he put himself at around a 10% to win the primary, but isn’t letting it get in his head – “If I were afraid of long odds, I don’t think you would want me in congress in the first place.”

His final elevator pitch: “I’m running because our generation is the first that’s been told to expect less than their parents.”