Zach Hurwitz aspires for unprecedented political success
URI freshman Zach Hurwitz is running in the RI state gubernatorial race as the youngest candidate. PHOTO CREDIT: zach4gov.com
Zach Hurwitz isn’t like most first-year college students.
At 18 years old, Zach Hurwitz is the youngest candidate in the 2022 Rhode Island state gubernatorial race, running as an independent.
Coming from Norwalk Conn. Zach Hurwitz spent time in Austin, Texas, before finding a home in Narragansett. Since then, he has launched this campaign with the help of his family and friends.
“I am running simply because I care about Rhode Island,” Zach Hurwitz said.
In his first-year at the University of Rhode Island, Zach Hurwitz is studying International Relations and Diplomacy and French, which he said was inspired by his grandfather.
“He was a World War II veteran who, after the war, helped develop and build the UN both here and in France,” Zach Hurwitz said.
He is also involved in Air Force ROTC at the University of Connecticut, where he hopes to become a pilot.
Hurwitz is new to politics and has no experience at any level, which he believes is actually an advantage.
“I can say that I’m not a career politician, I’m not someone who takes bribes,” Hurwitz said. “I want to help Rhode Islanders as much as I can.”
According to Zach Hurwitz, his political platform and central focus of the campaign is improving the quality of life for all Rhode Islanders. One of his plans is to combat food insecurity in the state by establishing free breakfast and lunch programs in public schools.
He also wants to improve the national recognition of Rhode Island as an important state to the rest of the country. According to his website, Zach Hurwitz wants to tackle issues such as combating the opioid epidemic, food insecurity, and improving infrastructure, tourism, and small businesses. Tourism is a major industry in the Ocean State, and Zach Hurwitz hopes to make the industry more beneficial to residents and small businesses.
His father and campaign manager, Peter Hurwitz shared his thoughts on his son’s goals.
“He’s always been very active, and has always had goals and visions,” Peter Hurwitz said. “He’s very driven, he’s very ambitious.”
According to Peter Hurwitz, his son has always been curious about the world around him, with interests in reading, foreign language, politics and diplomacy.
“He would spend hours reading and books upon books, he was always ahead at a reading level than his peers,” Peter Hurwitz said. “Zach has become very diplomatic.”
This energy of diplomacy is central to the campaign, as Zach is running as an independent.
“My goal of this campaign is to hopefully convince people to not just vote for someone because they have a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ next to their name,” Hurwitz said. “That’s the main reason why I am running as an independent.”
Throughout their campaign, the Hurwitz’s have had to balance life responsibilities with their campaign duties, with Zach being a full-time student and Peter being the president of a healthcare innovation company, Clarity Science. If he does end up winning the governor’s seat, Zach Hurwitz plans to take the position and take time away from school to serve.
“My first and foremost priority would be to help the Rhode Island people,” Zach Hurwitz said.
More information about Zach and his campaign can be found at his website, zach4gov.com