In northeast Iowa, 29-year-old Joe Mitchell is vying to represent the state's second congressional district. It's a competitive race, one of just a handful considered to be a tossup, as voters sour on President Trump and Democrats see control of Congress as increasingly in reach.
Mitchell has the president's endorsement, and if he's successful, he would head to Washington D.C. next year as part of a new cohort: the first-ever class of Gen Z Republicans in Congress.
It wouldn't be a large class. Aside from Mitchell, just a handful of other Gen Z Republicans are in the running for House seats this fall. One is running in a reliably red district. The rest are longshots, vying for what's seen as safe blue seats.
While their numbers may be small, Mitchell says the idea of a new generation of leaders in Washington is something that voters have been responding to on the campaign trail.
"I think people are looking for hope, regardless of what party they're in," he said. "They want to see young people get involved, and I hear that everywhere we go."
The former state senator and real estate developer says his platform can speak to Iowans on both sides of the aisle. He's calling for term limits in the House, with a maximum of six terms, as well as a ban on congressional stock trading. He says he has also rejected campaign donations from corporate PACs.
It's all part of an "anti-corruption platform," a focus he says is uniquely rooted in his generation, as Americans under 30 report high levels of concern for their economic wellbeing and distrust of institutions.
"I just think that young people — on both sides of the aisle or no party affiliates — are frustrated with the system," he said. "They're frustrated and they should be."
Currently, just one member of the House is part of Gen Z: 29-year-old Florida Democrat Maxwell Frost. However, two additional candidates are expected to win on Tuesday. Democratic socialist Melat Kiros, 29, is favored to win in Colorado's 1st district, a reliably blue seat. Republican Michael Alfonso, 26, is expected to carry Wisconsin's 7th district, a heavily Republican seat.
Alfonso, a political newcomer endorsed by Trump, is married to the daughter of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who previously held the seat from 2011 until 2019. If elected, he would be the first person born in the 2000s to serve in Congress.
In an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio earlier this month, Alfonso called his age his "greatest advantage."
"I have the same values of everyone here in the 7th [district,]" said Alfonso. "Hard work, faith and family."
But running and winning as a candidate in their 20s remains a rarity in politics. With the oldest Gen Zers turning 30 next year, it's a generation that's only just starting to become eligible to serve in the House, which has an age minimum of 25.
Just 4% of congressional candidates nationwide this cycle were part of Gen Z, which was the least likely of any generation to make it past the primary, according to a report from Future Caucus, a nonpartisan organization supporting young people in elected office.
The rare Gen-Z GOP candidate
Plus, while running for Congress as a young person remains rare, doing so as a young Republican is even less common.
Future Caucus data reveals that a majority of Gen Z candidates who ran for Congress this year ran as Democrats, while under a third filed as Republicans. Another 16% did not associate with either party or selected a third party.
While young Republicans garnered less national media attention, compared to the wave of largely unsuccessful young progressives who threw their hat into the ring during the Democratic primary, conservative organizers say they're working to build their bench at the local, state and federal level.
Adam Pennings is the executive director of Run Gen Z, an organization that helps young conservatives running for office, which was initially founded and run by Mitchell.
"Young people need a seat at the table. Does that mean they need to be the only seat of the table? No," said Pennings. "We need to be building up young people who are ready to lead in the future when some of these more, you know, long-term serving people retire."
In late October, his organization announced endorsements for more than 220 Gen Z and millennial conservatives running across the country.
That included a slate of congressional hopefuls like Mitchell and Alfonso, as well as more longshot candidates, like Riley Owen, a 28-year-old Republican running to represent Utah's newly redrawn 1st congressional district, which heavily favors Democrats.
In an interview, Owen acknowledged that he is not naive to the political realities of his district, though he remains optimistic, contending that "people are hungry for a new solution, new faces, fresh ideas, and a grassroots campaign like the one we're running."
Having a voice in the debate over the GOP's future
But on the eve of what is expected to be a challenging election night for the GOP, young conservatives like Owen are also thinking about what kind of party they hope to see in the future.
"People want to trust their government. People want to take risks and dream big and start a business, start a family, live the American dream," he added. "They want all of those things. And if we can provide solutions, I think the conservative movement has a very bright future."
Back in Iowa, Mitchell argues the future of the Republican Party is "an America First party."
"It's just asking a number of questions that maybe we didn't ask before, like, 'how does this help the American people?' And I think you're going to see that trend coming from specifically younger candidates," he said, adding he believes that Vice President JD Vance as well as other members of Trump's cabinet hold that view.
But the meaning behind "America First," has become a point of contention within the conservative movement, particularly as factions of the GOP clash over the U.S. war with Iran.
The war has been one of the biggest sore spots for Republicans like Mitchell running in tough contests, particularly as Democrats seek to link the conflict to rising costs.
Mitchell has not come out against the war, and has said that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon, while cautioning that he doesn't support "endless wars."
When asked whether Trump's agenda squares with his own definition of "America First," Mitchell argued that it does. But "like any definition," he said, " people can have a number of ways to interpret it."
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