Young Gen Z Republicans Seek First Seats in Congress and a Role in Party's Future

In northeast Iowa, 29-year-old Joe Mitchell is running to represent the state's 2nd congressional district. The race is competitive and considered one of just a handful of tossups, at a time when voters are souring on President Trump and Democrats see control of Congress as increasingly within reach.

Mitchell, who has the president's endorsement, would if successful head to Washington next year as part of a new cohort: the first-ever class of Gen Z Republicans in Congress. The former state senator and real estate developer says voters on the campaign trail have been responding to the idea of a new generation of leaders.

Mitchell said people are looking for hope regardless of party and want to see young people get involved, something he hears everywhere he goes. He added that young people on both sides of the aisle, and those with no party affiliation, are frustrated with the system and should be.

Mitchell's platform includes term limits in the House, with a maximum of six terms, and a ban on congressional stock trading. He says he has also rejected campaign donations from corporate PACs, describing the package as an anti-corruption platform rooted in his generation's concerns about economic wellbeing and distrust of institutions.

Currently, just one member of the House is part of Gen Z: 29-year-old Florida Democrat Maxwell Frost. Two additional candidates are expected to win on Tuesday: Democratic socialist Melat Kiros, 29, favoured in Colorado's 1st district, and Republican Michael Alfonso, 26, expected to carry Wisconsin's 7th district.

Alfonso, a political newcomer endorsed by Trump, is married to the daughter of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who held the seat from 2011 until 2019. If elected, Alfonso would be the first person born in the 2000s to serve in Congress.

In an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio earlier this month, Alfonso called his age his greatest advantage. He said he shares the values of everyone in the 7th district: hard work, faith and family.

The House has an age minimum of 25, and the oldest Gen Zers will turn 30 next year. According to a report from Future Caucus, a nonpartisan organisation supporting young people in elected office, just 4 percent of congressional candidates nationwide this cycle were part of Gen Z, and they were the least likely of any generation to make it past the primary.

Future Caucus data show a majority of Gen Z candidates who ran for Congress this year ran as Democrats, while under a third filed as Republicans. Another 16 percent did not associate with either party or selected a third party.

Adam Pennings, executive director of Run Gen Z, an organisation that helps young conservatives running for office and was initially founded and run by Mitchell, said young people need a seat at the table, but not the only seat. The bench must be built so young people are ready to lead when longer-serving members retire, he said.

In late October, Run Gen Z announced endorsements for more than 220 Gen Z and millennial conservatives running across the country. They included Mitchell and Alfonso, as well as Riley Owen, a 28-year-old Republican running in Utah's newly redrawn 1st district, which heavily favours Democrats.

Owen acknowledged he is not naive about the political realities of his district but remained optimistic, saying people are hungry for a new solution, new faces, fresh ideas and a grassroots campaign like his. Back in Iowa, Mitchell argued the future of the Republican Party is an America First party that asks how a decision helps the American people.

The U.S. war with Iran has become a point of contention over the meaning of America First within the conservative movement, as Democrats seek to link the conflict to rising costs. Mitchell has not come out against the war and has said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, while cautioning that he does not support endless wars.