Frost was backed by notable progressives such as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, as well as the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, and had raised $1.5 million by Aug. 3, more than any other candidate in the field , according to Federal Election Commission filings. For the first time, in 2022, members of Generation Z — those born after 1996 — are eligible to be elected to the US House of Representatives. (According to the Constitution, House members must be at least 25 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and live in the state they represent, though not necessarily the district.) Frost on the campaign trail has leaned toward his youth and has said that if elected to Congress, he would bring with him the fervor of Gen Z. “Our generation has been through some of the modern challenges that our country is going through, yet we don’t have representation in Congress and we deserve to be at the table,” he told CNN on Tuesday before the election. “I’m not saying here that I represent the values and thoughts of every member of Gen Z. We’re like any other generation … lots of different ideologies and everything like that. But I think I holistically represent our lived experience as young people,” he said. In addition to fighting for gun safety, Frost has advocated for abortion rights and voting rights with the ACLU of Florida. Since launching his campaign, he has focused his energy on what he calls the need for “bold change.” His platform includes proposals like “Medicare for All” and a plan to “end gun violence,” as well as the “climate crisis,” which includes support for the progressive Green New Deal resolution. Frost on Tuesday described growing up as part of the “mass shooting generation” and said, “We’re a generation that goes through more school shooting drills than fire drills.” “We’ve seen these things and we’ve been wondering all our lives as young people, in middle school and high school and elementary school, why? Why is this happening? Why haven’t we fixed this? And now we’re in a place where we can vote and we can submit candidacy, and we will,” he said.
