John,

Did you know that out of the 435 House members sworn in on January 3, nearly 30% of them are 65 or over? That means:

The average age of U.S. House members has steadily increased for decades, with the current average age of 57.2 years being one of the oldest in the past 100 years.

While only 1 in 6 people in the United States are senior citizens, nearly 1 out of 3 Congress members are 65 or older. In fact, a member in the House of Representatives is twice as likely to be over 70 years old than to have student loan debt.

To make matters worse, less than 2% of the last Congress came from working-class backgrounds, and that number is likely even smaller this Congress.

Too many members of this new Congress are out of touch with everyday people and do not accurately reflect the needs of the majority of Americans. We desperately need a new generation of working-class leaders from different walks of life to bring real representation to Congress and lead us toward a future that benefits us all.

That’s why Justice Democrats is working to raise $100,000 by February 1 to fuel our 2026 Candidate Recruitment Fund and have the resources to elect progressive leaders from working-class backgrounds. Chip in now to directly support our work and help us reach our goal in time!

Contribute $5

In solidarity,

Justice Democrats