State of Ohio
Meet Sam Cao, running for House of Representatives in Ohio’s 56th district.
Sam is 17 years old and ready to make changes within his state! Sam’s belief is that we need to elect younger voices into government because these are the people who just want to save the planet and preserve life. Young people are not focused on being corrupt and they do not have hidden agendas like many of our government leaders today. Sam says that since young people will inherit all of the problems that our current leaders are creating, it’s only fair that they should have a say in what direction our world goes in as well.
Sam believes that with the way we are currently treating the world, young people won’t even have a future. If they wait until they are much older to get involved in these big decisions, it will be too late. They need to act now.
Sam views his age as a positive factor in his candidacy because it makes him stand out among his opponents. It even helps him get more press coverage which he says he turns into momentum behind his race. Sam believes that just because someone younger than you may have a different experience, it doesn’t mean that their experience is any less important or valuable. He pointed out that the people currently in the state house were not in school when they had to worry about assault rifles coming onto campus. Having young voices in the house would open up new and necessary perspectives and represent the young people who will one day build the future.
Abortion is a pressing topic in our world right now—and for Ohio it’s especially controversial. Two politicians in Sam’s state had recently voted for a sanctuary city law that criminalized abortion in two towns overnight, without any word or warning. To Sam, this is a clear sign that these politicians are not on the side of women’s rights and that their state government needs better representatives vouching for certain groups. These leaders are not protecting their own people, almost acting as if their lives are a game, says Sam. He also reminded us of the recent story in the news where a 10 year old rape victim had to travel to another state to get an abortion. This is a prime example of how the anti-abortion policies hurt people more than they help people. While he cannot guarantee that he can change the republican majority in the house, he can always be that extra +1 vote that vouches for the rights of those who need protection.
One of Sam’s visions for Ohio is that they will have an efficient, environmentally friendly metro system that would reduce c02 emissions. He got inspired by a recent trip to Washington D.C. where he saw how many people used public transportation in their day to day lives.
Sam has his future thought out in terms of finishing his education while being a state representative. If elected, he plans on either taking a gap year or taking online classes to continue his education. He started his campaign during junior year, which is the most difficult and important year for many high schoolers. He says that if he could go through that learning curve of being a candidate while taking hard classes and tests, he can do anything. Same says that just because he is 17, doesn’t mean he is not caring, mature, productive, and innovative. He is actually very passionate about helping others and has always had unique interests that led him to run for this position. Sam told us his friends even call him boring sometimes because he’d rather read policy than play video games! Sam’s message is “Age is not the merit”, and that young people have the best interest of all people at heart, no matter who they are. We couldn’t agree more.
Sam told us that Ohio has a very deep and interesting history that is sometimes overlooked. We even learned that two astronauts that have gone up into space are from Ohio. One of them being Neil Armstrong! That’s pretty cool if you ask us.