Maxwell Frost.Photo: Cheriss May
“I didn’t want to run and lose,” he tells PEOPLE, keenly aware of the financial hardship and daunting time commitment that would come with upending his life for a campaign. “I wasn’t about to run just to make a point.”
Through organizing both in his local Orlando community and around the country, Frost caught the attention of fellow activists. When it became clear that his district’s representative, prominent DemocratVal Demings, would not be seeking reelection, calls grew for Frost to vie for her seat.
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“There were organizers that had casually brought up [running for a House seat] at the beginning of the year and I said, ‘Hell no,’ and moved on,” Frost recalls. “There were times where I’d said, ‘Yeah. Maybe I’ll run for office one day.’ But I had never really identified Congress specifically.”
But the idea of running stuck with him, and talking to trusted confidants, he decided to consider the proposal more seriously. “I checked into all the s—,” he says. “And part of that was carefully assessing, ‘Can I win?'” When victory looked plausible, he decided to go for it. “I didn’t have a ton of support at the beginning, but I had enough.”
“During this whole thing, I was like, ‘Well, at least if I win, in a year, I won’t have to worry about it,'” he remembers.
Cheriss May
Frost was 25 when he beat nine older challengers, including two former U.S. Representatives, in the Democratic primary; defeated a retired Army colonel in the general election; and took the oath of office, becoming the first Gen Z member of Congress.
He was the same age when he learned that even after becoming Congressman Frost, the financial strain wasn’t over. He was denied an apartment in Washington, D.C. because of his damaged credit score, forced to again crash with a friend until he can find a more permanent situation.
“I think back to the Max that said, ‘Oh you don’t have to worry about it.’ I’m still worrying about it,” he says. He’s grateful to know that, because his campaignwassuccessful, he will soon find some relief in the form of government paychecks — and he recognizes he’s privileged to have a light at the end of the tunnel, unlike so many Americans. “But I also bring it up, because the entry point to a position of power is really important … It determines who gets there. It acts as a filter.”
Newly 26, Frost is now getting to work in the Capitol as he awaits his committee assignments (he hopes to get on either the House Judiciary Committee or Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, but will gladly accept whatever he’s assigned).
He sees his purpose in Congress first and foremost as representing his constituents on the Hill, but also ensuring that he uses his life experiences to spark more dynamic conversations in Washington. He’s wary of being painted as the voice of Gen Z in Washington, seeing his age as just one piece of the perspective he brings to the halls of power.
“It’s important to have people with different perspectives in Congress — working-class people, younger people, et cetera — because when we sit down at a table and we’re discussing these issues … you want that table to be representative of all the different plights, struggles, experiences, cultures, loves and fears that our country has,” he says.
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New to lawmaking, Frost still managed to enter Congress as something of a celebrity, in large part thanks to his refreshingly personable energy.
On social media, he dances with constituents and incorporates youthful slang into policy debates. As a jazz drummer and avid concert goer, he is enmeshed in numerous musical fandoms — most notably that ofThe 1975, who dedicated a song to him at a recent D.C. performance. And Frost’s shameless belief that the meme-worthy horror-comedy filmM3GANis deserving of a Best Picture win at theOscarshints at his willingness to take a bold stance, no matter the issue.
“Spreading joy is my mission,” he says. “I think people should find joy in this work, and I think people should have the resources they need to find joy in their lives.”
source: people.com
