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Trump-backed Karoline Leavitt appears poised to dethrone New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the youngest woman ever elected to the United States House of Representatives.
The 25-year-old Republican is running against Democrat incumbent Christopher Pappas to represent New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District. Leavitt previously worked in Trump’s White House communications office and later for the No. 3 House Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik.
A new poll from New Hampshire’s St. Anselm College Survey Center shows Leavitt at 51 percent and Pappas at 45 percent, with a 3.5 percent margin of error. If she wins the race next week, Leavitt would replace Ocasio-Cortez, 33, as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. AOC first took office when she was 29.
During an appearance on “Fox & Friends First,” Leavitt argued that Democrats have sold out millennials and Generation Z.
“I am running to take back the majority from the Democrats because their policies are having a detrimental impact on my generation of Americans. Everywhere you look, conservatives, myself included, are being censored and silenced, and our freedoms to speak freely, think independently, bear arms, go to church and operate our own businesses are being infringed by radical Democrats,” the former staffer in the Trump White House press office said in her announcement video,” Leavitt reported.
“They’re telling us that if we don’t support policies like the Green New Deal, the world will end in 10 years. Well, that’s not true either. And young people are waking up to that,” said Leavitt. “I talk to them every single day. And it’s because the radical economic agenda of the Democratic Party that’s been pushed over the past two years is really costing young folks.”
Leavitt is certain of those most to blame: “Hypocritical Democrat elitists in Hollywood, in California, and in Democrat-run cities and states across this country,” who especially forced students to miss precious moments of education during pandemic lockdowns. All the while, she said, they were “partying at their ritzy upper-class homes and cocktail parties.”
“As many of you know, my youth is one of the many reasons that I felt compelled to run for Congress in the first place,” she noted further. “Because it’s my generation of Americans — your children, your grandchildren — who are not being served well by the current state of our education system, our media, and our entire culture.”
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During an interview on Fox News a few weeks ago, Leavitt spoke about establishment Republicans and did not commit to supporting California GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy to become Speaker if Republicans win control of the U.S. House.
Smith: “I want to ask you, Karoline, about the divided Republican support that you received in your run. A CBS article, we’ll put it on the screen, Kevin McCarthy backing your opponent. ‘Leavitt received support from some significant conservative leaders, including Elise Stefanik, Texas senator Ted Cruz, and Utah Rep. Jim Jordan. But House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy backed one of her opponents in the GOP primary, Matt Mowers.’ That was indeed the case. Now, if you go on to win this district and become the youngest, one of the youngest members of the House of Representatives in U.S. history, will you support Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker if the Republicans flip the House?”
LEAVITT: “Well, look, I am grateful for all those who believed in me in this race, Senator Ted Cruz, my former bosses, Elise Stefanik, Jim Jordan, Representative Scott Perry, Lauren Boebert, freedom fighters in the House of Representatives who stood by me and believed in me to win this race. And yesterday the voters of this district made their voices clear. We won this primary by ten points. I’m not beholden to anyone in Washington, D.C. I’m focused. I’m standing up for the people, I’ll continue to make that my main focus heading into the November general election and then we’ll take back the House in January.”
Smith: “So just real quickly, is that a yes, you’ll support Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker?”
LEAVITT: “We are not focused on that right now. Frankly, I don’t know. What I am focused on and what I do know is that I’ll continue to stand up for the people of this district.”
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