Next Stop, the Legislature

By David Frey, 8-25-08

	Caption: Steven Mercado and Julian Langness don't look like politicians. But the two Idaho 20-somethings say the Democratic National Convention is just a step on their way to running for the state legislature.

Today the convention, tomorrow the legislature.

Julian Langness and Steven Mercado don’t look like politicians. They are both T-shirt-wearing 20-somethings. Langness has slicked-back hair. Mercado is decked out with a smattering of pro-Obama badges, a skinny goatee and yellow sunglasses. They are Democratic geeks, hustling to shake hands with the Rev. Al Sharpton and strategist Donna Brazile.

To top it all off, they are Democrats in Idaho, the red heart of GOP country. But the two are part of Idaho’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. And, don’t forget about them, they say. They’ll be on the campaign trail in another two years.

“I think the most unrepresented minority in this country is young people,” says Langness, 22, of Bonners Ferry Idaho.

Langness rattles off the age limits to run for office: 35 to be president, 30 to be a senator, 25 for Congress. But for the Idaho state legislature? Twenty-two will do.

Langness says he likes the attention Democratic candidate Barack Obama has given to Western states. “As the Republican Party kind of shifts away from libertarian principles, I think it’s opening up a great opportunity for Democrats in the West,” he says.

Does that mean Idaho will go for Obama. Langness doubts it. But Mercado isn’t so sure.

“I don’t think states are red states or blue states,” says Mercado, 25, of Boise. “(Obama’s) putting that into action.”

And, they say, they will, too. Flush with being named national delegates from a state whose Democrats overwhelmingly backed Obama, the two say they’ll be running for the state legislature in the next election.

“The Rocky Mountain West is the future of the Democratic Party,” Langness says. And, he concedes, so are they.