I was a freshman in college when AOC took office. She was young, dynamic. She had ideas akin to Bernie Sanders and a level of social media savvy never seen before in politics. Pundits underestimated the effectiveness of her messaging and the popularity of her radical socialist philosophies. Worst of all, she resonated with my age group.
It was horrifying.
And you can imagine how loud she sounded on a college campus where students read just enough Marx (Karl, not Groucho) to like him. Brainwashed, they mobilize, lemming-like, over the latest vogue “injustice.” Where and when you dare to defend conservative values, you’re cancelled, labeled, socially ostracized.
The Left’s goal is to make young—namely female—conservatives feel outdated, insensitive, and isolated in our beliefs. And with the help of young voices like AOC, they often are successful.
But those days may be numbered. This November, New Hampshire’s First Congressional District can vote to send Karoline Leavitt to the House of Representatives, breaking AOC’s record as the youngest woman in Congress. A 25-year-old America First Republican who runs her own socials, Leavitt could not rattle the Left’s narrative any more effectively.
When I watched Karoline’s primary victory speech last week in Hampton, New Hampshire, one thought stayed in my mind:
Karoline Leavitt thinks like me.
And I know she’s not the only one. I hope every young woman in America sees that, too.
Last Friday in Portsmouth I sat down with Karoline to discuss her vision for the nation as a member of my generation—Generation Z.
“We have to break through the ever-present noise of every institution in this country. The public-school system, higher education system, Big Tech, Hollywood, social media and the one-state, one-party media are all pushing cultural Marxism down the throats of young people.”
Leavitt understands the Left’s agenda, and she’s risen above the nasty digs and personal attacks aiming to keep her from her goal—that is, “battling for the people of New Hampshire against the establishment.”
She’s tough enough to stifle the noise. She’s tough enough to take on the Washington establishment.
This election cycle, Democrats are eagerly attaching candidates’ names to January 6th protest footage or vocabulary like “ultra-MAGA” and “Trump-aligned.” They’ve got one buzzword on repeat for slandering opponents, young or old:
Extreme.
“It’s not extreme to want to put your own country first,” Karoline says, refuting refutes the negative press against her. “It’s not extreme to want strong borders, law and order, and respect for police—and to not spend trillion and trillions of dollars in two years, leading to record-high inflation.”
In seven weeks, Leavitt faces career politician Chris Pappas who, though used to playing a moderate on TV, votes in lock-step with Speaker Pelosi. Radical and untruthful, his most recent Leavitt attack ad falsely presents her position on abortion.
“Chris Pappas recently came out with a negative advertisement saying that I am going to push for a ban on abortion in Congress. Chris Pappas is lying in his television ad.”
Leavitt’s website cites her positions on several pertinent issues. She makes transparent her goal for abortion in the United States: codify the Hyde Amendment, expand access to adoptive services, and support young mothers.
“I’ve made my position on [abortion] very, very clear. I agree with the Supreme Court’s decision to make it a state and local issue for the people of New Hampshire. I’ve said that consistently throughout the campaign.”
Meanwhile, “moderate” Chris Pappas promises to fight to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act that would set in stone abortion access through the ninth month of pregnancy.
One candidate in this race is extreme, and it’s not Karoline.
“The real extremists,” says Leavitt, “are the Democrats who have taken actions that have led to this state of crisis: spending trillions of dollars, launching IRS agents on our small business community, allowing an illegal invasion of our southern border that’s led to more than four million illegal aliens in this country over the last two years alone.”
Karoline speaks often of her parents, two business owners who “wake up in the morning and work hard.” They, like other Granite Staters, have been plagued by profligate congressional spending.
“Life is more expensive than it ever has been for the people of this great state,” Leavitt explained, “and it’s all due to the socialist sprees passed by both Democrats and weak Republicans in Washington, D.C. We have to stop the unmitigated, reckless spending for individuals as well as our small business community.”
Though the past two years have seemed bleak, Karoline Leavitt is confident in the future of the Republican party both nationally and in New Hampshire.
“The severe consequences of this administration over the past two years have awakened a lot of people. The tide is turning. We have policy, truth and fact on our side. I think more freedom-loving people who want more money in their pockets will join our movement.”
And her own generation, thought to be moving in the direction of a progressive agenda, is not lost on Leavitt. In her victory speech last Tuesday, she vowed to bring the values of God, Country, Family, and Freedom to every young voter on the campaign trail.
“I don’t care how old I get. It will always be my goal to ensure that young people in America understand the conservative values that make this the greatest country in the world.”