This 21-year-old Republican beat a 10-term incumbent in primary for North Carolina State House
Wyatt Gable (R-NC), candidate for North Carolina House of Representatives, speaks to Zivvy News about what inspired him to run for office.
Zivvy News is committed to highlighting the work of young changemakers who are tackling key issues and making a difference in their communities and beyond. Ahead of Election Day, Zivvy News has spoken to several Gen Z politicians from both sides of the aisle. View our Gen Z Spotlight series here.
Wyatt Gable, a student at East Carolina University, first garnered national attention earlier this year following a narrow victory in a North Carolina primary. He faced-off against 84-year-old Republican State Representative George Cleveland, who had served for 10 terms.
Now, the 21-year-old Republican hopes to become the youngest member of his state’s House of Representatives.
“I figured there's no time like the present [to run for office], Gable tells Zivvy News. “I see a problem now and I feel like I have solutions to those problems, and there's no time to wait. We need to get in there as soon as possible to make a difference.”
Gable first got involved with politics in high school during the Covid pandemic, when he felt that the government was taking rights away from people. Self-described as a “staunch conservative,” He later served as the President of his university’s chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit focused on millennial and Gen Z outreach on high school and college campuses. In this role, Gable fought to keep his university’s bathrooms from potentially converting to “all gender only.”
As Zivvy News previously reported, multiple reports and polls point towards Gen Z leaning more progressive than previous generations, especially on social issues. But Gable does predict that things could swing the other way in due time.
“As people get older, they become more conservative,” Gable says, “So, I think if I can try and show people in my age range that there's someone involved heavily with politics on the conservative side of things, that you can join that side as well, even if you just want to get involved in a small aspect.”
Although North Carolina is a swing state on the national level, Gable is running in a solidly-Republican district, making his path to the state legislature relatively smooth. He remains committed to engaging one-on-one with voters from various age groups, especially on education issues.
One key advantage Gable says he has is the fact that he is still a college student, “I think still being in the education system gives me an advantage because I can see what goes on on a daily basis.”
Gable is advocating for the introduction of mandatory home economics classes for high school students across North Carolina, that would teach life skills including personal finance so people know how to write checks, understand interest rates and how to apply for loans.
He sees this as a way of diversifying future career paths for fellow young residents of his state, especially at a time where pessimistic sentiments regarding the state of the economy are at an all-time high nationwide.
“A lot of the talk when you're in high school is ‘you have to go to college,’” Gable says, “and that’s great for people like me who chose to go to college, but for people that think they have a different career path, you're kind of neglecting them. I want to make sure that those people [feel] like they have a voice, and that they're heard and understood as well.”