24-Year-Old Erin Schrode Is Trying to Become the Youngest Woman Ever Elected to Congress

Erin Schrode talked to a lot of people before she decided to run for Congress, but one conversation really stuck in her mind.

She had sought out the advice of an older male friend about waging a campaign to unseat an incumbent in her California district. "He put his hand on my knee and said, 'Sweetie, just wait 20 years [and] maybe you can run,'" she recalled in an interview Monday.

Schrode "was completely taken aback." And she decided to go for it.

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At 24, the Marin County Democrat would be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.

Why she's running: Schrode summed up her rationale for running in a March 29 Medium post:

At the same time, Schrode insisted that she doesn't want to be judged on her age or gender, but by her ideas.

Digital footprint: Another thing Schrode said sets her apart from older officials and candidates: Like her millennial peers, she grew up a digital native. "I had Facebook throughout high school," she said. "I Instagram the food that I eat. I am vocal about my points of view on Twitter. There's a 10-year digital footprint."