“My name is Maxwell Alejandro Frost and I will be the first Generation Z member of Congress.”
Frost, 25, posted his winning tweet shortly after 10:00 am Wednesday, his first day as the official Democratic nominee for the Orlando seat.
Four hours ago, at dawn, Frost retweeted Florida Politics, a local news outlet, saying his victory was “stunning.” [the] institution.”
“Thinking about what I wanted to tweet this morning or what I wanted to say, I really wanted to highlight and focus on the fact that young people are often left out. But I really want people to know that I’m shamelessly young,” Frost told The Hill.
While Frost did stun the Democratic establishment by appearing seemingly out of nowhere to outdo a wide field filled with high-profile political figures, Frost’s victory is visible even among a diversified national corps of candidates.
Frost is rooted in a wide range of American life: his parents, who adopted Frost at birth, are a Cuban American and a white male from Kansas. His biological parents were a Lebanese Puerto Rican woman and a Haitian man.
Frost, who is black, spoke both English and Spanish at home, and he took advantage of his multicultural upbringing to campaign in an area as diverse as his own background.
However, Frost stands out with a resume that doesn’t match his age.
He has been politically active for ten years, mostly campaigning against gun violence and for abortion rights with organizations such as the March for Our Lives and the American Civil Liberties Union.
“Maxwell is a very ambitious and incredibly special person, a special candidate. I think he has a very bright future,” said Victoria McGrowry, executive director of Bold PAC, the campaign arm of the Hispanic Congress.
“He is very young and energetic, and he has a decade of experience working to bring about change,” added McGrowry.
Frost’s main campaign was one of Bold PAC’s two main targets for this cycle, with the group betting big on Frost with both strategic-level engagement and $250,000 in independent spending.
Frost will almost certainly win in November as the seat he is fighting for – the safe blue seat vacated by outgoing Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) – has been reallocated to bring together more Democratic voters.
But Democrats see potential in Frost that goes beyond November.
“Maxwell is the future of the Democratic Party,” McGrawry said. “The work that Bold PAC has done with Maxwell’s campaign embodies the very mission of Bold PAC.”
Frost said he will continue to champion issues in which he has been active, but will also serve as a kind of congressional ambassador for his generation.
“People always ask me: “Generation Z cares about other things than other generations?” I’m actually repulsed. I don’t think we have different issues. I don’t think we care about different things. I think we all care about the same things. About how to live your life, have the necessary resources, appreciate and care. But we’re just looking at problems in a different light,” Frost said.
“Some people might say that young people are in debt because they were living beyond their means. But as a young man, I know this is not true. I know it’s because we were denied a livelihood,” he added.
“When we think about healthcare, we think about it holistically. When we think about climate change, we think about the fact that every year we wait, the bill for solving this problem gets higher and higher.”
Frost’s political passions also stem from personal experience – his gun propaganda began on Halloween 2016, when Frost and his friends were forced to flee from an active shooter in downtown Orlando.
His pursuit of reproductive rights is based on the experience of his biological mother, who did not have the funds for treatment during her pregnancy.
But beyond the big political battles, Frost said he wants to defend the arts in Congress.
Before taking up active sports at the age of 15, Frost credits his discipline and pursuit of music with his father’s musical education.
“My dad is a full-time musician. My life changed forever when he gave me a drum set in second grade. And I became a musician and I always grew up listening to music in the house,” said Frost.
“When I was younger, like any other kid, I just didn’t really understand where I wanted to go, what I wanted to do, but music and art really changed that for me, my father was an influence in helping me hone my energies,” Frost added.