Rep. Maxwell Frost: Democracy belongs to all of us

By Sarah Evans

Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) is familiar with breaking down barriers. He became the first member of Gen Z to enter Congress in 2023, at the age of 25—and ever since, he’s been a champion for youth participation in politics. 

“Gen Z is the most politically active generation in the history of our country,” Frost said. “But also, something that’s oftentimes left out of the conversation is running for office, and making sure young people have the resources they need to run for office.” 

The latest edition of Future Caucus’ biannual On the Rise report reveals that one in four congressional candidates in 2024 is a millennial or Gen Zer. Younger candidates, however, were disproportionately eliminated from their congressional races prior to the general election—whether by losing a primary, caucus, or convention election, voluntarily withdrawing from the race, or failing to qualify for the ballot.

“It’s not just an absence of ambition or passion—there’s also real institutional barriers that keep young people from running for office,” Frost told Future Caucus in an interview. Foremost among those barriers is the expense of running a congressional campaign. During his first campaign in 2022, Frost had to quit his job and drive for Uber to make ends meet. Even after he was elected, Frost continued to face economic disadvantages, tweeting that his application for an apartment in Washington, D.C. was rejected as a result of debt accumulated while running his campaign. 

“There’s real barriers here that push people further into a corner where they just want nothing to do with their government,” Frost said, adding that “it’s up to us to fix it.” 

Frost hopes that by persevering through these obstacles, he has demonstrated to prospective young candidates that they, too, can gain a foothold in the political sphere. Now he works in Congress as an advocate for the preservation of U.S. democracy. 

“We can agree to disagree on the issues, but we can’t agree to disagree on democracy,” Frost said. He also emphasized the importance of bipartisanship in these efforts. “Anybody who’s willing to do work, especially in a bipartisan way, around protecting our democracy, protecting our civil rights and liberties—I think it’s really important work.” 

Bipartisanship isn’t just a buzzword for Frost, but an ideal exemplified in his work on behalf of Floridians from all walks of life. He co-sponsored several bills, including one with Representative Daniel Webster (R-FL) and another with Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR), to allocate more resources towards hurricane preparedness for vulnerable populations. 

“It might feel partisan, but the impacts are anything but partisan. A bullet doesn’t care what your party registration is,” said Frost, who survived a shooting in downtown Orlando and went on to become a leader in the movement to end gun violence. “A hurricane doesn’t care who you voted for.” 

To Frost, youth participation in politics, bipartisanship, and the preservation of democracy are deeply interconnected, and all important aspects of his work in Congress. 

“Democracy shouldn’t belong to one party,” Frost said. “It belongs to all of us.”