There has been a lot of attention given to a newly elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., for various reasons. The fact that she was able to unseat incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary is noteworthy. But not as much attention is being given to another rising star, state Rep. Caleb Hanna, R-W.Va.
Caleb, in a season of millennial apathy where the politics of personal destruction are running rampant, decided to run for office at just 19 years old. He had the faith, courage, and passion to become the youngest elected state legislator in the nation. He is a black Republican in his freshman year of college at West Virginia State University, a publicly-supported Historically Black College and University.
This Black History Month, we always celebrate the achievements of black Americans that have made an indelible impact on the fabric of our nation. When we look back historically at the legacy of black Republican leadership and elected officials, what we see Caleb doing is not out of the ordinary for my people and my party.
You can start with Hiram Revels, a Republican who in February 1870 became the first black senator. After his brief tenure, he became the president of Alcorn College, now known as Alcorn State University, another publicly supported HBCU.
In the House of Representatives, the first black representative was a Republican, Joseph Rainey from South Carolina. After Rainey, there were 20 consecutive black men who were all Republicans serving in Congress. It was not until 1935 before a black Democrat was elected. In recent years there have been black Republicans in Congress such as Reps. Allen West, Mia Love, Will Hurd, and Sen. Tim Scott.
Caleb is doing the right thing by starting at the local level, understanding his community, his constituents, and having an up-close and personal look at how government should work. The Republican National Committee and other GOP auxiliary groups should support him, make sure he has resources and experiences needed to be the best public official he can be. We should take pride in the fact that a millennial has not been dissuaded to serve. Instead he was encouraged to be engaged and run for office, not to mention win.
What makes Caleb’s story so unique is that he was actually inspired by President Barack Obama’s historic rise to the presidency. But Caleb is also a free-thinking man of faith who took the time to examine the Obama record and policies and came to realize that he did not agree with Obama or national Democrats on policy. That is exactly how I came to the GOP: My values did not align with the Democrats, and from the age of 16, I was actively involved in Republican politics at all levels, starting on the state board of the Arizona Teen Age Republicans and even speaking at the Republican National Convention at 17.
Hanna is the son of a coal miner. Looking at Obama’s positions on coal, he knew those policies were not good for him, his family, or his community. So he joined the GOP, supports President Trump, and has never looked back.
Hanna is an activist, a leader, an inspiration. He is standing on the shoulders of many that have gone before him. He has a lot to learn about himself, our party, his community, and his culture, but he is willing to learn, grow, and serve while in college.
While we can look at people from the past to celebrate and honor during Black History Month, let’s celebrate people making great strides today. Let’s honor young people like Hanna for his achievement and his promise for greater impact in the future. There is no doubt that he can have a meteoric rise in politics. He is serving at the right time. Trump is doing great things for HBCUs, West Virginia, coal, and the black community in terms of opportunity zones, criminal justice reform, deregulation, and small business opportunities through the Small Business Administration and Minority Business Development Agency, and an overall economic environment that is producing historic levels of low unemployment for black Americans.
Caleb and other millennials like him are reaping the benefits of the Trump economy and is walking proof of how we can all work to Make America Great Again: it is by doing our own part, talking to our neighbors, classmates, and friends, and doing what we can in our own sphere of influence to serve and to make our communities a better place.
This Black History Month, I salute Caleb Hanna, America’s youngest black legislator who happens to be a proud Republican. His future is bright, and we should all support him.
Paris Dennard (@parisdennard) is a GOP political commentator and communications strategist. He served as the associate director for coalitions at the Republican National Committee from 2009-11 and worked in the President George W. Bush White House from 2005-2009. In 2017, President Trump appointed him to the President’s Commission on White House Fellows.
