History was made Tuesday night as the first member of Generation Z was elected to Congress.
Democrat Maxwell Frost, 25, won in Florida's 10th Congressional District, defeating 72-year-old Republican Calvin Wimbish by 19 percentage points, according to the Associated Press.
"WE WON!!!!" Frost proclaimed excitedly on Twitter, as multiple news outlets projected his victory. "I’VE BEEN CAMPAIGNING FOR OVER A YEAR THIS IS WILD!!"
"History was made tonight," he continued. "We made history for Floridians, for Gen Z, and for everyone who believes we deserve a better future. I am beyond thankful for the opportunity to represent my home in the United States Congress."
To become a member of Congress, candidates must be at least 25 years old -- and Frost just made the cut as a member of Gen Z, which refers to people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s.
Despite his young age, Frost says he's been involved in politics for 10 years as an activist for gun reform and social justice.
"I started Organizing at 15 because I didn't want to get shot at school," he said on Twitter.
Before running for Congress, Frost served as the national organizing director for March for Our Lives, a group that advocates for gun control policy, NPR reported. During his campaign, he raised over $2.5 million and was endorsed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey as well as the Congressional Progressive Caucus, NPR added.
Although ending gun violence may be at the top of his agenda, Frost is also focused on key issues such as climate change, affordable housing, Medicare for all, abortion rights and criminal justice reform.
For the people he now represents, Frost promised to keep working hard.
"In the new year, we are gonna keep knocking doors, making phone calls, and engaging with folks even though it's not 'election time,'" he said. "It's not right to just hit up your constituents when you need a vote, we have to build trust and power with our community year-round."
His election is also expected to inspire others in Gen Z to know that they, too, can make a difference.
"You see one 25-year-old run for Congress and win, you think I can do this too, and then more people step up. Someone is the first, more people are the second and the third, and the fourth," Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something, told NPR. "We are just seeing the beginning of Gen Z's engagement as political leaders."
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