Gen Z GOP: 29-year-old Joe Mitchell leads small cohort to House
Mitchell runs in a tossup Iowa district as part of the first potential class of Gen Z Republicans in Congress, a group comprising less than 4% of all candidates.
By Lucas Sheridan ·
Just 4% of congressional candidates nationwide are part of Generation Z this cycle. That small share includes Joe Mitchell, a 29-year-old Republican running for the U.S. House in Iowa's second district. He is among the first-ever Gen Z Republicans vying for a seat in the federal legislature.
Mitchell is the only Gen Z Republican in a competitive tossup race. The other candidates in this age group face steeper odds. One Republican, Michael Alfonso, is running in Wisconsin's heavily Republican 7th district. The remaining Gen Z Republicans are longshots in safe Democratic seats. If Mitchell wins, he would join a new cohort of young legislators in Washington, D.C., next year.
Mitchell, a former state senator and real estate developer, campaigns on an anti-corruption platform. He supports a six-term limit for House members and a ban on congressional stock trading. He has also rejected campaign donations from corporate PACs. Mitchell says his focus addresses the economic worries and institutional distrust felt by Americans under 30. "I just think that young people on both sides of the aisle or no party affiliates are frustrated with the system," he said.
Currently, only one Gen Z member serves in the House: 29-year-old Florida Democrat Maxwell Frost. Two additional candidates are expected to win seats on Tuesday. Democratic socialist Melat Kiros is favored in Colorado's 1st district. Republican Michael Alfonso, 26, is expected to carry Wisconsin's 7th district. Alfonso is married to the daughter of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. If elected, Alfonso would be the first person born in the 2000s to serve in Congress.
Young Republicans are a minority among Gen Z congressional candidates. Future Caucus data shows that a majority of Gen Z candidates ran as Democrats, while fewer than one-third filed as Republicans. Adam Pennings, executive director of Run Gen Z, says his organization is building a bench of young conservative leaders. The group announced endorsements for more than 220 Gen Z and millennial conservatives in late October. That slate included Mitchell, Alfonso, and 28-year-old Riley Owen, who is running in Utah's newly redrawn 1st district.
Mitchell argues the future of the Republican Party is an "America First party." He believes this approach focuses on how policies help the American people. The definition has become a point of contention within the conservative movement, particularly regarding the U.S. war with Iran. Mitchell has not opposed the war, stating that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, but he does not support endless wars. When asked if Trump's agenda aligns with his definition, Mitchell said it does, though interpretations vary.
