Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a 25-year-old Democrat, became the first member of Generation Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 — elected to Congress after defeating Republican Calvin Wimbish in Florida’s solidly blue 10th Congressional District.
Why it matters: Frost, after being sworn in, will be the sole congressional representative of Gen Zers, an overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning generation that’s set to become the biggest U.S. voting cohort and a substantial portion of the country’s workforce.
By the numbers: He is also younger than half the average age of current U.S. House members — 58 — and at 25 just meets the Constitution’s age requirement for the chamber.
- 2022 was the first election cycle in which Gen Z candidates were old enough to run for the House.
Frost, born in January 1997, won a 10-way Democratic primary in August for the nomination to fill the seat vacated by former Rep. Val Demings, who won the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Marco Rubio (R) in Florida’s U.S. Senate election.
- Frost was a first-time candidate who has not held political office. He has organized for the ACLU and March for Our Lives and drove for Uber to make ends meet while campaigning.
- He told Axios’ Andrew Solender in August that he doesn’t necessarily see himself as a disruptor in the mold of the “Squad” — referencing a group of U.S. House progressives elected in 2018. He positions himself with young progressives who want a more pugnacious Democratic Party.
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