Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost won Tuesday’s race to become a Generation Z congressman, the Associated Press predicted.
Mr. Frost will represent the state’s 10th congressional district, which includes Orlando, in the House of Representatives. He will replace Rep. Val Demings, who has unsuccessfully tried to remove incumbent Republican Senator Marco Rubio.
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“History was made tonight,” Frost said. said on Twitter, after the AP and multiple news outlets predicted him as the winner. “We made history for the people of Florida, Generation Z, and everyone who believes we deserve a better future.I am grateful for the opportunity to represent my home in the United States Congress. increase.”
In an interview with Yahoo News on Monday, the 25-year-old Democrat and gun control activist said he started the final day of his campaign on Election Day with a 4 a. invite you to vote.
Unlike many candidates, Frost did not know that politics would be part of his future. black lives matter Riot 2020 asked him to participate in the vote.
A phone call with his biological mother gave him the final push he needed to run for office, he told Yahoo News in August. I said I need to run for Congress for people like my mother, people like my mother, people like my father, my community, the place where I was born and raised,” he said.
In August 2021, Frost will march for our lives and launched his campaign.Now he’s heading to Washington D.C. after defeating Republican opponents Calvin Wimbish.
“My mother came here from Cuba and had nothing when she was younger, and now her son is going to Congress,” Frost told Yahoo News in August.
In a statement Friday, Demings expressed his support for Frost. “Maxwell He is proud to endorse Alejandro Frost in Congress because he will continue to fight to end gun violence, tackle the housing crisis, bring down rising costs, and in DC he will help Central Florida I will continue to be the bold leader you need.”
Before Election Day, Frost was confident in his race, but said other contests across the Sunshine State were too close for him to be comfortable.
“Currently, voter turnout is actually relatively low. And we have a lot of work to do to ensure that. [it’s] Better in future elections,” Frost told Yahoo News on Monday.
Florida presidential elections typically have higher voter turnout than midterm elections, experts say. “Nationwide, voter turnout is rising heading into the midterm elections, which means we are likely to win the last two midterm elections. [in] 2014 and 2018. But not in Florida. Early voting in Florida is low,” said Ciara Torres-Sperysee, a law professor at Stetson University.
Campaign of Progressive Candidates Raised millions of dollars to help Frost secure the Democratic nomination in the primary and win the election. OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks campaign spend, said:more than half Of the donations Frost’s campaign received this election cycle, $1.4 million came from individual donors under $200. ”
Mr. Frost relied on Latino and Generation Z voters to win the election. Latinos make up 20% of his US population, but only 1% of his political power. latino triumpha non-profit organization dedicated to increasing political power in the Latinx community.
“And it’s not representative democracy. So we’re really trying to change that,” Natalie Reyes, president of Latino Victory, told Yahoo News.
But that’s changed, Rayes said, as four Democratic Latinos hold seats in the Senate and Frost is added to that list as a new member of the House.
“He’s the first Gen Z to be in Congress, and the third Afro-Latino, and we need that energy,” Reyes said. “We need young people in elected positions. Maxwell is a hardworking, dedicated leader who will bring renewed energy to fight for the districts of Washington, DC,” she added.
Frost plans to focus on issues such as climate change and affordable housing. But as a survivor of gun violence and a resident of a state that has been the scene of mass shootings like at Orlando’s Pulse his nightclub and Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, that particular problem. is first on his list.
“Gun violence is an issue that affects almost every community,” Frost told Yahoo News in August. “Congress needs more advocates and advocates fighting to end this issue.”
Frost says he’s ready and excited to make an impact in Washington, DC, but he recognizes he can’t do it alone. “There is no savior and no politician trying to fix it. It has to be about movement, movement on the streets, movement at the ballot box. For that reason, I want people to know. [that] A movement of the people must be elected to be what we want and deserve. ”