David Hogg, Kevin Lata launch super PAC supporting young progressives running for office

David Hogg, Kevin Lata. Images via AP, Twitter.

March for Our Lives activist David Hogg knows the value of bringing a young voice to politics. Now he’s joining forces with Campaign Manager Kevin Lata in an effort to urge more young people to run for Congress.

The two Florida political voices just launched Leaders We Deserve, a grassroots effort to attract more millennial and Generation Z progressives to run for Congress.

“Young people have the greatest asset on their side when you are interested in change, which is time,” Hogg said.

The organization, through a political action committee and super PAC, plans to recruit and support candidates under age 30 to run for state Legislatures, and candidates under age 35 to run for Congress.

The plan for now will be to focus on a few key states like Florida, Texas and Georgia — now red states, but where long-term trends show the potential for Democratic gains — and on deep blue districts without incumbents. Leaders We Deserve intends to back 15 to 30 diverse candidates for Legislatures this cycle, as well as one or two congressional candidates.

Hogg gained national prominence while still a high school student, attending Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the deadly 2018 shooting in Parkland.

He first connected with Lata last year when the political consultant managed Democrat Maxwell Frost’s successful congressional campaign in Central Florida. Frost, 26, now serves as the first Gen Z member of Congress and the federal body’s youngest member.

Before running for office, Frost, himself a survivor of gun violence, had become active in the March for Our Lives movement, and Hogg early in the campaign raised $380,000 for the Orlando Democrat’s campaign while helping earn the candidate early media attention.

After helping Frost emerge from a crowded Democratic field to win the open seat, the American Association of Political Consultants honored Lata as the 2022 Campaign Manager of the Year award nationwide.

Lata realized early that youth and star power for Frost and Hogg could be harnessed to raise resources for a campaign. “So, we thought, how do you take that to the next level?” Lata said.

Running for office is daunting for anyone, Lata said, especially young people early in their careers. But those young candidates also often have the most energy to campaign, fewer competing commitments and a greater desire to create change in the status quo.

The group is already working with nationally prominent figures like Frost and Illinois state Rep. Nabeela Syed, who in November won election to her seat at age 23.

“It’s time for the next generation of leaders who truly understand the unique struggles and aspirations of young people today,” Syed said in a statement. “Leaders We Deserve is making that change possible. Together, we will support young, dynamic candidates who are ready to make change in state legislatures and in Washington — not just today, not just tomorrow, but for decades to come.”

Frost has shown the political capital gained from being young, not only on the campaign trail but through the national attention gleaned since. He appeared on the cover of Teen Vogue and a bevy of profiles in mainstream publications reaching more than just political readers. But Frost said young people need an infrastructure to help them with the basics of campaigns.

“The deck is stacked against young working people running for office, which is why there’s so few young people in elected office,” Frost said in a statement.

“Leaders We Deserve is exactly what we need to change that and help elect a new generation of young progressives that will beat back the far-right agenda and advance a future that puts equity first. Kevin and David were essential in my victory that many thought was impossible. I’m glad to see them team up on a project that will help move our nation forward.”

Hogg and his fellow Parkland survivors know what volume young people can generate in the media conversation around policy. The activism of teenagers received mass attention after the shooting, landing Hogg on the cover of Time Magazine. But he also believes young candidates have an important perspective.

He compares the impact of young voices on gun safety issues now to the change in dialogue around nuclear proliferation that happened after a generation grew up enduring drills for atomic bomb attacks in the 1950s and ‘60s.

“I am not saying anything wrong about older people in office in any way shape or form. We need people of all ages in government,” Hogg stressed. “But as much as people care about stopping school shootings, many don’t understand the anxiety of school shooter drills like young people themselves.”