This 21-year-old Republican beat a 10-term incumbent. What’s next for Wyatt Gable?

While his college friends celebrated the end of midterm exams with a spring break trip to Florida, 21-year-old Wyatt Gable entered the home stretch of his bid to oust a 10-term Republican from the North Carolina House.

Weeks spent phone banking after class and driving about an hour home on the weekends to knock on doors paid off. The East Carolina University junior narrowly beat state Rep. George Cleveland, 84, this week in a primary election in which he cast himself as “the future of the Republican Party.”

Gable’s victory comes as voters nationwide express misgivings about the older ages of the frontrunners in the 2024 presidential race. Gable, who described himself as a “big Trump supporter,” said he hopes that his candidacy injects youthful energy into a Republican Party that is often dominated by “older people” at county meetings.

While some voters told him he was too young to hold office, Gable said, others considered his opponent too old.

“A lot of people were just ready for a fresh face,” Gable said in an interview.

Gable is the president of East Carolina’s chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth group founded by right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk. In addition to his political advocacy against causes like gender-expansive restroom access, the business management major said he runs club track and plays intramural sports.

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