‘I’M YOUNG BUT I CAN GET IT DONE’

23-Year-Old Dem Beats Out Incumbent Mayor in Deep Red Louisiana

The Gen Z Mayor-elect celebrated his age on the campaign trail, and focused his attention toward rising crime and possible economic opportunity.

A Louisiana township where 70 percent of voters went for Trump in 2020 has decided to change management, swapping its eight-year incumbent conservative mayor for a 23-year-old Gen Z Democrat. Tyrin Truong, the new mayor-elect of Bogalusa, Louisiana, told BuzzFeed News he celebrated his age on the campaign trail, telling voters “I’m young, but I can get it done.” He also made crime and economic opportunity cornerstones of his campaign, calling for police to be more present in the community to thwart a rising murder rate, and seeking to maximize job gains with the local airport. The call to action worked, earning him more than 55 percent of the votes in Tuesday’s election. “Tyrin was kind of able to sort of make himself to be the change candidate,” Bogalusa Daily News editor Justin Schuver told BuzzFeed. “I just think maybe the mood sort of is really anti-incumbent from a national standpoint, and I think that even trickles down to small-town America.”