Launching a political campaign may seem pretty daunting, but rest assured: Not all positions in politics require mud slinging and ruthless tactics to score a seat. In fact, very few do. To get your foot in the door—mud-free—all you need is persistence, a passion for making a difference and little bit of charm.

In 2001, as a recent college grad, Alisha Thomas Morgan had an epiphany. She had been working with a nonprofit organization, mobilizing young people to vote. “I was driving home, thinking about a panel I was on earlier that night talking about young people starting a revolution. I said to the audience, ‘Yeah, I’m doing a lot, but not enough.’ It hit me that I needed to run for state legislature.” Today, twenty-seven-year-old Morgan is the representative for Cobb County in the Georgia State Assembly.

Young women across the country are taking an increasingly active role in the political scene and are becoming more visible at all levels of government. Ayame Nagatani, a recent college grad working in Washington, D.C., is a legislative correspondent in the House of Representatives, further exemplifying this trend.