Comment Maxwell Frost is a lot like other Gen Zers—he’s 25, drives Uber for extra cash, and recently quit his job to pursue a more promising opportunity. His last concert? He won a crowded primary in Florida’s heavily Democratic 10th Congressional District on Tuesday night, giving him a strong shot at becoming a member of the US House of Representatives. Frost prevailed over more experienced Democrats, including former congressmen Corrine Brown and Alan Grayson, and state Sen. Randolph Bracy, to secure the nomination. It will be a November favorite in the redeveloped Orlando area. Four propositions from the New York and Florida primaries “I knew we were going to be held accountable because of my age,” Frost told The Washington Post in an interview Tuesday. “And I’ve been counted out a lot of my life because of my age. But I knew if we stuck to our message and kept doing the work and building the movement, we would win.” He is among the new breed of Democratic candidates breaking the mold this year with working-class roots. On his campaign website, he highlights the hardships faced by his biological mother who gave him up for adoption amid what he describes as “a cycle of drugs, crime and violence”. The Washington Post’s complete election coverage Frost campaigned in support of Medicare-for-all, demilitarizing the police, legalizing prostitution and recreational marijuana, repealing all marijuana convictions, and restoring voting rights to prisoners. It was supported by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Polls leading into the primary showed Frost leading in the 10-candidate race, but he said his campaign team worked as hard on Election Day as they had all summer, hitting the streets at 4 a.m. to leave campaign literature at voters’ homes. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), who is the first Gen Z candidate to win a congressional primary, discusses his plan to engage young people in the upcoming elections. (Video: The Washington Post; Photo: Maxwell Alejandro Frost for Congress/The Washington Post) The minimum age to hold a seat in Congress is 25. Frost has never run for public office, but he doesn’t consider himself a junior politician. He began working in politics when he was 15 years old, protesting gun violence after the deadly mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012. He became the national organizing director for March for Our Lives, the group organized by student survivors of yet another deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. He also worked for the ACLU of Florida. supporting voting rights for formerly incarcerated citizens; Frost refers to his as the “mass shooting generation.” He gained national attention four months ago when he confronted Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) at an event in Orlando shortly after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. In a video widely shared on social media, Frost is seen telling DeSantis that we need to do something about gun violence. DeSantis replied, “No one wants to hear you,” and Frost is seen accompanying. Frost said he believes voters angry with DeSandis will help him get to Congress. “Our positive message about the world we deserve to live in is what really resonates with people, despite what’s coming from the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee,” Frost said. He argued that DeSantis’ policies have motivated voters. “Our message is resonating right now despite what the governor is doing to scapegoat queer people, despite black people and their voting rights being taken away by the governor, despite our LGBTQ plus community and Latinos and Black and disabled people scapegoated by this governor for every issue under the sun,” he said. Frost was the top fundraiser in the race for an open seat currently held by Rep. Val Demings (D), who won the Senate nomination Tuesday night and will challenge Sen. Marco Rubio (R).
