Kansas teens run for office

In a state where the youth voting rate is even worse than the dismal national average, more than half a dozen Kansas teens are running for statewide office in 2018 — a sort of viral movement against apathy that could, in theory, make a high school student governor.

Naturally, adults are trying to stop it.

A state legislative committee moved a bill forward this week that would bar people under age 18 from running for statewide office, after a 16-year-old discovered a loophole in the state’s electoral laws and inspired his peers to flood the race.

“Oh, I could do that,” Jack Bergeson thought to himself when he realized Kansas law, while it restricts voting ages, says nothing about who can run for governor, The Kansas City Star reported last August.

So the Wichita high school junior filed to run in the Democratic primary, campaigning for health care reform, medical marijuana and open-carry gun laws.

One of his classmates, a year older than Bergeson at 17, became his running mate for lieutenant governor.

Neither of them is old enough to vote.

Some political analysts liked the idea of teens running for public office, the Star wrote, noting widespread apathy among young voters in the country. In the last nonpresidential election, census data show a mere 13 percent of Kansans ages 18 to 24 bothered to vote. The national average was just a few points higher.

Other adults mocked Bergeson’s campaign.

“People want something different,” the teen told Fox News host Jesse Watters in September. “They don’t necessarily want an experienced politician.”

Watters interrupted him with a sneering laugh. “Yeah, so they want an inexperienced politician, and you’re going to be the most inexperienced politician ever.”

“Yes,” Bergeson said, straight-faced.

“Have you thought about a jacket and tie?” Watters asked, noting the candidate’s polo shirt.

“If you dress more like everyday people, I think it shows a common relation between the candidates and the people who elect them,” Bergeson replied.

The host cracked more jokes, but the teen was not deterred. On the contrary, he talked his friend, Tyler Ruzich, into the joining the governor’s race on the Republican side, where a huge slate of candidates was vying to replace former Gov. Sam Brownback, who stepped down to become a U.S. ambassador.

Fox News invited Ruzich to appear too — but this time respectfully, with the hosts noting his honor roll status and political experience in student government.