Millennials stand to lose if Kansas AG wins

economy in 2023, with 37% of those aged 35-44 rated the state’s economy as “poor” or “very poor.” The next lowest rating was 26% and among younger Millennials and Gen Z — those ages 18-34.

Older Millennials also expressed the most concern that the Kansas economy will seriously threaten their family’s well-being over the next year, with 26% very concerned and 23% moderately concerned.

These survey questions present various ways of measuring financial stability among this age group.

According to a 2021 poll by the National Association of Realtors, 60% of Millennials say student loan debt has delayed their ability to buy a home. In 2021, only 43% of Millennials were homeowners, the lowest home ownership rate of any generation, per research conducted by Freddie Mac.

In Kansas Speaks, older Millennials also had the highest rate of renting (47%), highest concern about the cost of housing in their community (73%) and the highest rate of disagreement with the statement “I spend the right amount of my income on housing costs” (42%).

The cost of a college education has increased over the past several decades as states have consistently cut higher education funding, thus increasing tuition costs for students who then have had to take out more student loans. At the same time, the cost of living has increased exponentially while wages have remained stagnant for college graduates.

Millennials are largely bearing this economic burden, and Gen Z is starting to join them.

In 2019, Millennials became the largest population cohort in the United States, surpassing the Baby Boomers. Their sheer size gives Millennials social, economic and political influence.

Given the recent precedent, there’s good reason to assume Kobach’s case will be successful at the Supreme Court, begging the question: Is this smart politics for Kansas?

Championing a lawsuit that targets Millennials, the state’s largest voting cohort, doesn’t seem like the brightest political move by the state’s attorney general, but only time will tell.

The case will be heard by the U.S. District Court in coming months.

Alexandra Middlewood, PhD, is the department chair of political science at Wichita State University.