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Who is Maxwell Frost? Anti-gun Florida Dem, 25, becomes first Gen Z Congress member

Maxwell Alejandro Frost, an Afro-Cuban Democratic nominee, has worked as an activist prior to running for office and is a survivor of gun violence

FLORIDA: The 2022 midterms have written history as we have the first Gen Z member winning. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, 25, has officially become the first Gen Z member elected to Congress after winning a House seat in Florida’s 10th Congressional District. The Democrat defeated Republican Calvin Wimbish and independent candidates Jason Holic and Usha Jain, securing the seat previously held by Rep Val Demings, who lost to Sen Marco Rubio. 

The 25-year-old Gen Z Democrat based his electoral campaign around gun violence and advocated for stronger gun control laws and support for refined policies like Medicare-for-all. He won his primary contest in August. Frost's win comes as a major development as the average age of a House member is currently 58 and is also the first Afro-Cuban person in Congress as well, adding to the diversity of a body that is made up of 75 percent WHITE people. As for support, the young Democrat has endorsements from well-known lawmakers like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. He defeated Florida Sen Randolph Bracy and former US reps, Alan Grayson and Corrine Brown, among others, in the August 23, 2022, primary.

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Frost was further backed by Congressional Progressive Caucus, which is affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. He will be joining the CPC as a newly elected lawmaker. Frost took to his Twitter to celebrate the moment writing, "WE WON!!!! History was made tonight. We made history for Floridians, for Gen Z, and for everyone who believes we deserve a better future. I am beyond thankful for the opportunity to represent my home in the United States Congress. #FL10"

Who is Maxwell Frost?

Maxwell Alejandro Frost, an Afro-Cuban Democratic nominee, has worked as an activist prior to running for office and is a survivor of gun violence, which was a crucial part of his campaign. In an interview with HuffPost a month before the elections, Frost explained that gun violence "is an issue that is solvable that we’ve seen the least amount of progress on." If elected, Frost said that he would broadcast gun reform with gun regulation being the first step. He continued, "The goal here should be to build a world where people don’t feel the need to use a gun to solve their problems in the first place." Frost was reportedly a victim of gun violence at a Halloween event in Downtown Orlando in 2016. 

To support this resume, Frost has served as an organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union and as the national organizing director for March for Our Lives, which is a student-led demonstration in support of gun control legislation. Frost further reflected on the struggles of being a candidate and having to fund his campaign. He worked as a Uber driver for three months after his campaign due to being short on funds. He told the outlet, "As a young person who just doesn’t have a lot of money, I’ve been living literally paycheck to paycheck this entire year and at times didn’t have money to feed myself."