Lindy Li has a clear message for those who think her too young or inexperienced to run for political office: “I have sass and I do whatever I want.”
In May, the 24-year-old Democratic congressional candidate stood in the lobby of her midtown Manhattan apartment building, occasionally checking her watch to make sure she didn’t miss her train and answering rapid-fire questions without a hint of hesitation.
“I want to breathe life into American promise, I’m a first-generation immigrant and I don’t take a single day here for granted,” Li says. “I understand how blessed I am, at the same time I am very aware of problems that need to be fixed.”
Li, who is focusing full time on her campaign for a seat representing Pennsylvania’s Seventh Congressional District, recently left her job as a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley. In early May, Li was organizing her campaign while still working at Morgan Stanley, carefully navigating corporate policies while talking to potential supporters, donors and reporters. When she finally informed her employer about her candidacy, she was asked to resign her position.
“They did everything they could to recruit me and make it enticing to work at Morgan Stanley,” Li says. “Here I am a few months in and I’m leaving. It’s difficult to navigate that, this is quite a unique transition.”
Morgan Stanley declined comment for this story.
At the time of the 2016 general election, she’ll be 25 years old, and if elected, at 26 years old she will be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
Li’s toothy, public relations-friendly smile gives way to furrows of concern when she’s pressed further about her age. “No one under 30 is directly represented within the corridors of power,” Li says. “Ability, integrity, intelligence and character matter more than age. I'm saddened by the attitudes of some who dismiss me offhandedly because I am young, neither taking the time to understand what I hope to do for American families nor realizing the amount of dedication and fortitude I would bring to serving our country.”
Currently, the youngest person serving in the U.S. House of Representatives is New York’s Elise Stefanik, who was 30 years old when sworn in to office last year. Stefanik was elected out of a mostly rural, aging district along the Canadian border. Li says her younger district, sprawled within Philadelphia’s northern suburbs, may respond to her youth.
“My generation is sleeping,” Li says. “They’re disillusioned, they’ve detached themselves from the political process because they think they don’t matter. I’ve experienced a huge wave of tremendous support since launching my campaign. It’s indicative of so much latent power.”
Li’s primary opponent is fellow Democrat Mary Ellen Balchunis, whose 2014 campaign resulted in a 24-point loss at the hands of incumbent Republican Patrick Meehan. Balchunis says qualifications, not policies, separate Li and herself.
“There are not serious contrasts to be drawn on our positions,” Balchunis says. “Our distinctions are primarily in real-world experience, where I’ve spent most of my 25-year career teaching young people at LaSalle University, and Lindy has spent the majority of her adult life learning as a college student.”
From an outsider’s perspective, Li is taking advantage of political opportunity: the Cook Partisan Voting Index rates the PA-07 as evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, and on paper the race is competitive, but if Li wins the May 2016 primary, she faces an uphill battle to unseat Patrick Meehan.
Pennsylvania’s seventh district winds through parts of Berks, Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, and Lancaster counties, and is drawn to favor Republican candidates.
“Pat Meehan’s party has gerrymandered the district for the benefit of Meehan and his Republicans, not for the benefit of the people,” Balchunis says via email. “In addition to delivering on policies, such as protecting Medicare, electing a Democrat will be a good first step toward bringing back representative government.”
But Li plans on appealing to more than just millennials— she has targeted women’s issues as a major campaign platform, denouncing the paucity of women in public office and leveling specific criticism at her home state of Pennsylvania.
“There isn’t a single woman in Pennsylvania’s 20-member congressional delegation,” Li says. “If we are, as I believe, the greatest state in the country, but we don’t have a single woman in Congress representing us, what does that say about us?”
Balchunis agrees with Li, arguing that Pennsylvania’s electoral map and the power of incumbency present a barrier to female candidates.
“In fact, less than 17 percent of the Congress is made up of women,” Balchunis says. “Once a governing body is established as male-dominated, it becomes self-perpetuating, as incumbents are very difficult to unseat. The evidence shows that when women serve in Congress more legislation is passed benefitting women, children and families.”
At least one local Democratic leader thinks Li has enough experience to represent the district.
“I am excited to see such a qualified candidate step up to represent the District,” says Lynn Millar, vice chair of the Berks County Democratic Committee. “The voters desperately need a representative to take their views and needs to Washington. As a founding member of Berks Democratic Women, I am happy to see a woman running for office. A woman will bring a point of view much needed among our lawmakers.”
After her immigrating to the United States from China, Li moved frequently as a young child before her family settled in Malvern, Pa. Her experience in public schools along the east coast has influenced her platform, which calls for support and reform of the education system to focus on science, technology, engineering and math fields and to harness technology to create greater efficiencies.
Li graduated from Princeton University in 2012 after majoring in philosophy. She spent all four of her years on campus as her class president, and served a year as the school’s Class Council president.