Catalina Lauf, a 26-year-old Latina conservative, announced last week she is running for Illinois' 14th Congressional District seat. Lauf hopes to unseat incumbent Democrat Lauren Underwood and is a former Trump administration adviser who has been a "life-long conservative," supports the border wall, and is a proud capitalist who promises to stop the threat of socialism in the United States.
If Lauf were to win, she would break the record as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress held by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at age 29.
"I think people like AOC and that group are focusing on an agenda that is so detrimental to our country," Lauf told The New York Post. "They are not being leaders. They are part of the problem."
In her campaign announcement video, Lauf said, "Today angry voices seek to divide us by skin color, economic class, and where we come from. They use envy and bitterness, trying to convince us to surrender our personal freedoms for the false promises of socialism," while images of AOC, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Antifa flashed on the screen.
"Our own representative in Congress calls Republicans racist and sexist," she said referencing statements from Rep. Underwood. "They forget that America is an idea, an idea that we are all created equal and that what we have in common is far more powerful than any of our differences. They forget what makes America great is all of us coming together."
Her campaign website says, "The divisive rhetoric and dangerous policies pushed by the far-left are putting the future of the American Dream at risk. Like many Americans today, Catalina is concerned with the young socialist progressive wing in Congress and their impact on the future."
"The American Dream is what made Catalina’s life possible. She is running for Congress to help preserve the promise and future of the American Dream for generations to come," the site adds.
Lauf is the daughter of a legal immigrant and is staunchly against illegal immigration.
"I’m the daughter of a legal immigrant," she told the NYP. "We’re for legal immigration. That’s not racism. You should be a law-abiding citizen."
She also added, "I want to break the stereotype that Republicans aren’t empathetic...Being Republican doesn’t mean I don’t care."