To the Editor:

Madison Cawthorn, newly 25 and a GOP candidate for the 11th Congressional District, may be a young voter himself, but he certainly won’t be earning the youth vote this November.

As the WNC Regional Organizing Director for NextGen North Carolina, I’m working with a team of organizers to run the largest youth voter registration program in the state. A Gen Z’er myself, I love to see my peers voting, getting involved with politics, and running for office — and yet I couldn’t be more excited to cast my ballot for 62-year-old Moe Davis for Congress.

While Cawthorn has been spending his time on the campaign trail making divisive, racist comments and rebuffing CDC guidelines by hosting maskless gatherings, Davis has shown that he’ll make real progress on the issues that young voters care about. He is committed to expanding affordable healthcare access, protecting our environment with a Green New Deal, and raising the minimum wage to $15 — and he has the plans to back it up. 

Cawthorn’s scant website doesn’t tell us much about what he stands for or what he’ll do about it, other than he’s got a bone to pick with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman elected to Congress and a leader whom I personally look up to. This November, young voters in NC-11 will make sure he doesn’t join her impressive ranks as the youngest man in the House.

Nicole Skinner

Asheville