How Gen Z Republicans running for Congress are thinking about the future of the party

A small group of Republicans born in Generation Z is seeking House seats this fall, and if any win, they would form the first such bloc of GOP members in Congress. The most prominent is Joe Mitchell, 29, a former state senator and real estate developer who holds Trump's endorsement and is the party's nominee in Iowa's 2nd district, a contest rated a tossup. Of the others, Michael Alfonso, 26, is expected to carry a heavily Republican Wisconsin district, while the rest are underdogs in safe Democratic territory, according to NPR.

Mitchell is campaigning on term limits capped at six terms, a ban on lawmakers trading stocks, and a refusal of corporate PAC money. He describes this as an anti-corruption agenda reflecting young Americans' frustration with institutions. Alfonso, a political newcomer who is married to the daughter of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, calls his youth his biggest advantage. Duffy held the seat from 2011 until 2019.

The odds are long for the generation overall. According to Future Caucus, a nonpartisan group, Gen Z made up just 4% of congressional candidates this cycle, and fewer than a third of them ran as Republicans.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NPR’s reporting. Read the full story at NPR →