Former business CEO and Harvard graduate Jared Young announced Tuesday evening that he would run for US Senate from Missouri. He joins a growing field of candidates vying to challenge first-term Republican Senator Josh Hawley.
Young, who graduated from Harvard Law School and is a father of six, is the former President and CEO of Employer Advantage. The company was headquartered in Joplin, Missouri, and specialized in human resource services for over 500 small businesses before being acquired by G&A Partners in 2022. Following the acquisition, Young assumed the position of G&A’s Chief Mergers and Acquisitions Officer until he stepped down last month, according to his LinkedIn.
Although Young’s campaign site does not currently outline specific policy priorities, he does address several criticisms of the present state of Washington, DC. Notably, he highlights a culture of “widespread conflict and disdain” entangling the Senate and expresses concern that extreme views have marginalized political moderates, leaving them without a voice.
Speaking with local media, the Joplin Globe, the night of his announcement, Young said his goal is to challenge the current status quo outside any political party, noting that past efforts to do so from others have failed due to internal party pressure.
“My goal is to significantly change the way that Washington works, and I don’t believe that can be done as a member of the party,” he’s reported as saying. “How many people have you heard run for Congress, run for the Senate, say that they’re going to change the system from within, they’re going to go fix Washington? None of them succeed. And it’s not because they’re insincere. It’s because the pressure to conform as a member of a party is incredibly intense.”
As an independent candidate, Young must collect and submit 10,000 valid signatures. However, unlike those candidates associated with political parties, he will not need to pay a filing fee.