10-term NC state lawmaker loses GOP primary to college junior: 'Lot of hard work'

A 10-term incumbent state representative has been defeated by a North Carolina college junior in the general election.

On Thursday, 21-year-old Wyatt Gable joined "Fox & Friends" after winning the Super Tuesday election in North Carolina's district 2 by 95 votes, defeating 81-year-old incumbent state Rep. George Cleveland. Cleveland, who has represented the district for two decades, lost his seat.

Gable won by working hard.

"Numerous individuals assisted me, with many door knocks and phone calls, and I am deeply grateful."

Gable expressed his "confidence" in winning the seat in November, as the 14th District is known to lean towards the Republican party.

"We have a significant number of Republicans and independent voters who support the Republican party. As a result, we are confident, but we will continue to work diligently, as we did during the primary."

Gable's decision to run for office was sparked by the COVID pandemic, which led him to feel that his individual freedoms were being infringed upon by the government. He initially contacted his then-Rep. Cleveland but did not receive a response.

"He recounted how he wrote an email to someone in his microeconomics class but never received a response. He remembered the feeling of being left out and didn't want anyone else to experience the same. This led him to come up with the idea for the current situation."

Gable is now shifting his focus to the general election in November after securing a primary win.

The junior at East Carolina University has a platform that centers on education, the China threat, and government spending.

"Three key areas. Education should be given the same importance as basic tasks. Home economics, woodworking, and carpentry should be taught to prepare students," he stated. "The Chinese Communist Party owns vast tracts of land in North Carolina, so I want to use eminent domain to reclaim it all. And then smart spending. We need to cut back on government spending at both the federal and state levels to reduce taxes."

Gable aims to inspire more young Americans to join the Republican Party or run themselves by winning the position.

"If I can be seen as a 21-year-old or younger person who is part of the GOP and the Republican Party, I hope to inspire others in my age group to join the conservative side and potentially run for office."

In the November general election, Carmen Spicer, a Democratic candidate, will challenge Gable for the position of representing N.C. House District 14.