Three Republican House candidates in Iowa, Utah and Wisconsin are presenting different messages as voters prepare to decide control of Congress on Nov. 3.
NPR profiled Joe Mitchell, Riley Owen and Michael Alfonso on Nov. 1 as Gen Z Republicans. Iowa Secretary of State primary results name Mitchell as the Republican winner in the 2nd District, while Utah's official candidate filings list Owen as a Republican candidate in the 1st District. PBS Wisconsin identified Alfonso as the Republican nominee for Wisconsin's 7th District.
Future Caucus's On the Rise 2026 report puts Gen Z at 4% of congressional candidates. The group sourced or estimated age information for 2,758 of 3,918 candidates and included 2,725 in its generational analysis. Its dataset was last updated Sept. 6.
Mitchell's campaign backs congressional term limits, a stock-trading ban for lawmakers and a pledge to reject corporate PAC money. NPR reported that Mitchell has proposed limiting House members to six terms. His campaign also lists lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, support for family farmers and the Second Amendment among its priorities.
Mitchell served in the Iowa House from 2019 to 2023. In a separate comparison, Future Caucus found that one in three congressional candidates without state office experience reached the general election; among those who had served in a state legislature, the share was two in three.
Owen's campaign proposes separate service limits of six terms in the House and three in the Senate. It also wants lawmakers and congressional staff barred from stock trading. Other stated priorities include affordable housing, paid maternity leave, online child safety and protecting the Great Salt Lake.
Alfonso's recorded candidate statement for PBS Wisconsin focused on family history and opportunity. “My grandparents fled communist Cuba,” he said, adding that construction work helped him pay for college and graduate without debt.
Voters will decide the three House races Tuesday, Nov. 3.
