In the upcoming 2022 midterms, Florida’s 10th Congressional seat held by House of Representative Val Demings will be open since Demings is running for U.S. Senate against Senator Marco Rubio.

This race is deemed safe for Democrats. The Democratic nominee will be elected as the next representative for that district, which has led to numerous people running, including former OCSA student and National March for Our Lives Movement Organizing Director Maxwell Alejandro Frost.

He is one of the first Generation Z candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives as they reach the age required to run. He is currently 24 and will turn 25 in January, passing the age requirement to be in the U.S. House. This factor has helped him gain national and local attention from numerous websites and news organizations like CNN, MSNBC, and Teen Vogue, which helped his fundraising effort as he beat all other candidates, including State Senator Randolph Bracy during the third fundraising quarter.

Frost is a candidate that supports progressive policies such as Medicare For all, Green New Deal, and the legalization of marijuana. However, one of his primary focuses is gun control with policies like banning assault weapons, enacting universal background checks, fighting against the National Rifle Association (NRA), and working to stop gun violence. The policies that he promotes reflect the work he has done for his community. In the past, he’s worked to end gun violence, protested for racial justice, and worked with organizations like March for Our Lives and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as a National Organizer to get policies passed to benefit his community by getting politicians to support reforms on social programs.

If he is elected, he will change Florida and national politics. He will be one of the first Generation Z and progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives in a state with a majority elected moderate Democrats. In an interview with The Hill, Frost stated, “Every two years, every community has an opportunity to send a different type of politician to Congress and we’ve seen people doing this across the nation with folks like AOC and Cori Bush.”

For those who are on the fence about electing a younger person for office, Frost believes that he can do a great job as he will continue to fight and help his community. In the same interview with The Hill, he further stated, “Now we have an open seat here where we have an opportunity to elect another person to Congress who’s going to fight for folks who are suffering.”