Gen Z feels the needs of its generation aren't represented anywhere in Congress: poll

• Gen Zers do not feel the needs of their generation are being met by Congress, a new poll found.
• Gen Zers were born between 1997 and 2012. Some are still in school while others are just entering the workforce.

Members of Generation Z don't feel like its needs are adequately represented in Congress, according to new polling from Morning Consult and Insider.

Gen Zers, born between 1997 and 2012, were polled in September and listed inflation, the economy, and access to abortion as the top three most important political issues to them personally.

And as the economy and inflation are on their minds, two-thirds of Gen Zers polled told Morning Consult/Insider that they think Congress is either "somewhat" or "very out of touch" with their generation's needs regarding inflation.

The generation's frustration with the nation's federal legislative body didn't stop there.

The Gen Zers surveyed also voiced concern with how "in touch" Congress is on abortion access: only 31% said the body is in touch with its needs on accessing abortions compared to the 69% who said the opposite.

The US Supreme Court overturned the nation's prior Roe v. Wade abortion protections in June, and GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham has since proposed a bill that would limit access to abortion services to 15 weeks of gestation.

Additionally, six out of 10 Gen Zers, many of whom are still in school, also noted that Congress is at least "somewhat" or "very" out of touch with its needs surrounding "K-12 Education," and 65% said the same about the generation's needs for higher education affordability.

As of March, relatively few members of Congress reported still having student loans: only 24 of 535 members, or less than 5% altogether, reported personally having some form of student loan that they're still paying off.

Eli Yokley, senior reporter at Morning Consult, told Insider he thinks a major reason that young people feel Congress is out of touch is simple: it "reflects what they see in the press. They see a bunch of folks who are just much older than them and sort of out of touch with what's happening."

And despite Congress passing a new law addressing gun violence in June 2022, 70% of Gen Zers — a generation that has witnessed countless indiscriminate school shootings — said Congress is "very" or "somewhat out of touch" about its needs for further gun regulation.

The Insider/Morning Consult was conducted from September 8 through September 10, had 2,210 respondents and a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.