--- title: Erin Schrode Explains Why We Need More Women in Office description: Erin Schrode, the ambitious 25-year-old who ran for Congress in California, isn't letting her defeat deter her from politics. canonical: https://time.com/4562437/erin-schrode-women-in-congress/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-08T17:49:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:03:48.274Z og:title: 25-Year-Old Congressional Candidate Says We Need More Women in Office og:description: Even though Erin Schrode lost her race, she's more determined than ever og:url: https://time.com/4562437/erin-schrode-women-in-congress/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b722bc5e7a0447a/6988ad71196cf460e903de17/erin-schrode-women-congress.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 2015 Life Is Beautiful Festival - Day 1 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 25-Year-Old Congressional Candidate Says We Need More Women in Office twitter:description: Even though Erin Schrode lost her race, she's more determined than ever twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b722bc5e7a0447a/6988ad71196cf460e903de17/erin-schrode-women-congress.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 25-Year-Old Congressional Candidate Says We Need More Women in Office by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Nov 8, 2016 5:49 PM UTC  LAS VEGAS, NV - SEPTEMBER 25: Teens Turning Green co-founder Erin Schrode speaks onstage during day 1 of the 2015 Life Is Beautiful Festival on September 25, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by FilmMagic/FilmMagic) LAS VEGAS, NV - SEPTEMBER 25: Teens Turning Green co-founder Erin Schrode speaks onstage during day 1 of the 2015 Life Is Beautiful Festival on September 25, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by FilmMagic/FilmMagic)FilmMagic/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Nov 8, 2016 5:49 PM UTC Erin Schrode, the ambitious 25-year-old who ran for Congress in California earlier this year, isn’t letting her [defeat](http://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-are-running-for-congress-and-losing-heres-why-2016-8) to incumbent Jared Huffman deter her from politics. In an [as-told-to](http://www.glamour.com/story/why-i-ran-for-congress-at-25-and-why-i-think-more-women-should-run-too) in _Glamour_ magazine, Schrode explains her motivations in running for public office and why she believes more young women should be following suit. Schrode’s political awareness dates back to when she was 13-years-old and helped her mom organize a local grassroots campaign called [Turning Green](http://turninggreen.org/about/), which campaigned against hazardous chemicals in beauty and hygiene products. Schrode then turned to lobbying for various green causes that she supported in the state capital before she was even legal to vote. This momentum carried into college, where she worked with large companies such as Nestle, [Apple](http://time.com/4553569/apple-new-iphone-rumors/) and Coca-Cola. Schrode then shared her desire to run for office in an [essay](https://medium.com/athena-talks/why-is-a-24-year-old-woman-running-for-congress-2508e75b242b#.2p6zpi3tn) she posted on Medium in which she explained why “it’s time to deliver on the promise of my generation.” She filed with the FEC and announced her campaign with only 70 days to spare before the primaries. Schrode didn’t even come at [second place](http://www.refinery29.com/2016/05/111236/erin-schrode-ca-house-of-representatives-election), but she managed to keep the incumbent at his lowest to-date numbers. She told _Glamour_, “We ended up with 21,000 votes, and 21,000 votes is no small feat in 70 days, starting from literally nothing. No money, no name recognition, no support.” [_Follow Motto on Facebook_](https://www.facebook.com/mottoworkplaylive/)_._ Although she lost this time, Schrode says her “knee-jerk reaction” is to run for [Congress](http://time.com/4514717/congressional-reform/) again because young women continue to be underrepresented in Washington. “There’s no one under 30 serving in Congress right now, ” she said. “There’s never been a woman under 30 elected in the history of our country to Congress.” Schrode explained to _Glamour_. Election loss aside, Schrode continues to be active in the political sphere. She recently joined the protests at [Standing Rock](http://time.com/4501580/dakota-access-pipeline-protest/) in North Dakota, where [police shot her](http://www.revelist.com/us-news/erin-schrode-standing-rock/5632) with a rubber bullet. The incident was [recorded and posted](https://www.facebook.com/erinschrode/videos/vb.1064550072/10209534018401713/?type=2&theater) on Facebook. Schrode hopes that experiences will get other young people involved in politics who are “more willing to reach across the aisle.” Read the rest of her story in _Glamour_ [here](http://www.glamour.com/story/why-i-ran-for-congress-at-25-and-why-i-think-more-women-should-run-too?mbid=social%5Ftwitter%5Fglamourmain). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4562437/erin-schrode-women-in-congress/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4562437/erin-schrode-women-in-congress/"},"headline":"25-Year-Old Congressional Candidate Says We Need More Women in Office","datePublished":"2016-11-08T17:49:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:48.274Z","description":"Even though Erin Schrode lost her race, she's more determined than ever","url":"https://time.com/4562437/erin-schrode-women-in-congress/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b722bc5e7a0447a/6988ad71196cf460e903de17/erin-schrode-women-congress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b722bc5e7a0447a/6988ad71196cf460e903de17/erin-schrode-women-congress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2015 Life Is Beautiful Festival - Day 1","caption":"2015 Life Is Beautiful Festival - Day 1","creditText":"FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4562437/erin-schrode-women-in-congress/","name":"25-Year-Old Congressional Candidate Says We Need More Women in Office"}}]}] ```