N.H. Candidate Leavitt to Newsmax: Youth 'Greatest Asset' in House Race Karoline Leavitt (AP)
By Sandy Fitzgerald | Friday, 07 October 2022 09:46 AM EDT
Karoline Leavitt, the 25-year-old New Hampshire GOP candidate seeking election to the U.S. House of Representatives, is often attacked by her opponent because of her age, but Leavitt said on Newsmax on Friday that her youth is her "greatest asset," as voters in the state's 1st Congressional District "want a fresh voice."
"It's funny because my opponents try to use it as our greatest weakness," Leavitt told Newsmax's "Wake Up America," adding that people in her district "want youthful energy down in Washington, D.C., to shake up the system."
Leavitt could be the youngest woman elected to Congress, coming in at four years younger than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who was 29 when she was sworn in.
Leavitt, a 2019 graduate of Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, worked in former President Donald Trump's administration just after graduating and became an assistant press secretary under Kayleigh McEnany, reports CNN. After Trump left office, Leavitt worked for Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who was once the youngest woman elected to Congress, taking office in 2014 at 30.
Leavitt is challenging incumbent Democrat Rep. Christopher Pappas, who was sworn into office in 2019.
Leavitt told Newsmax that some have been in Congress "twice as long as I have been alive, clinging to power and ripping off hardworking families like my own. That's why I got involved in this race in the first place."
Leavitt also said that young voices need to be elected, because "Generation Z [is] unfortunately being taught socialism and cultural marxism by the left."
"It's in every institution in this country, starting in our public schools, higher education universities, the mainstream media, tech, Hollywood, you name it," said Leavitt. "It's indoctrinating my generation, and we desperately need a young conservative voice to wake up these voters. So not only can we win elections, but we can save our country as well."
Leavitt also discussed the issues facing her state and said that the main concern is with the rising cost of energy.
"We have some of the highest electricity rates of any state in the country," said Leavitt. "We're a cold weather state, and this winter, we're facing a home heating oil shortage, which is a very dangerous and scary reality.
"I'm talking to mothers and fathers who are choosing between feeding their children eating and heating this winter, and it's a direct result of the policies of the Biden administration that my Democratic opponent, Chris Pappas, has supported 100% of the time."
But Pappas says he pushed the Biden administration into tapping into the federal oil energy reserves, said Leavitt, and she called that a mistake.
"We've nearly depleted those emergency reserves," she said. "Those are supposed to be used for war time."
Levitt also on Friday discussed the fentanyl crisis, saying it's one of the top issues facing her state and is becoming worse because of the Biden administration's "wide open border policies."
"The fentanyl crisis has hit us hard for nearly a decade," said Leavitt. "I know way too many people, unfortunately, that have lost their lives to drug addiction, and we have a real problem, and it's only gotten worse because of the wide-open border policies of this administration.
"I'm proud to be supported by the New Hampshire Police Association and several sheriffs within my district, because they know I will fight to shut down the border and stop this influx of drugs."
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