Texas is a young state with older elected officials. Some young leaders are trying to change that.

Figure out what to wear to be taken seriously; prepare a few one-liners to respond to the inevitable critiques about your age; know the issues facing your district.

These are among the tips Rep. Erin Zwiener, a Driftwood Democrat, serves up to young people seeking elected office in Texas.

Zwiener was the second youngest elected state lawmaker in Texas when she won a state House seat at 33. On the campaign trail, competitors and potential voters frequently chided Zwiener about her age, questioning whether she had the skills and experience needed for the job. Zwiener had a standard comeback: Lyndon B. Johnson, the future president, was 28 when he was elected to U.S. Congress, and Lloyd Doggett, now in his 29th year in Congress, was 27 when elected to the state Senate.

“Some of those lines really helped remind folks that my age wasn’t that unusual,” she said.

In the Texas Capitol, Zwiener was — and, at 39, continues to be — something of a rarity. Despite having one of the youngest populations in the country, the Texas Legislature is a gerontocracy, and it has only gotten older in recent years.

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