Meet the 22-year-old candidate eyeing history in key swing state as Gen Z embraces conservatism: 'Step up'
- Iowa House candidate Dillon Fillion, 22, claims to be the youngest ever to seek office in Scott County, trading pepperoni deliveries for campaign promises.
- His platform: ax property taxes, pump more cash into police, and make sure mom and dad are the principal of your school.
- Fillion credits Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk for giving Gen Z men a 'purpose'—which apparently includes running for office before they can legally rent a car.
- He's challenging incumbent Democrat Daniel Gosa in the 81st District, backed by Sen. Rick Scott and Iowa House Majority Leader Bobby Kaufmann.
- His origin story? Saw Democrats call Trump 'weird' in 2019, fell down a 'rabbit hole,' and now he's running on 'Keep Iowa Great!'—a slogan that definitely isn't derivative at all.
Brief Summary
In a tale as American as a cheap pepperoni pizza, 22-year-old Dillon Fillion is swapping his Domino's delivery car for a campaign bus—or at least a well-worn hatchback—to run for the Iowa House. The youngest candidate in Scott County history, Fillion is banking on a wave of Gen Z conservatism to unseat sitting Democrat Daniel Gosa, promising to eliminate property taxes entirely, because who needs roads or schools when you have vibes? He cites the 2019 Russia investigation as his political awakening, after finding it 'weird' that Democrats would say 'untrue things' about a president who is definitely known for his commitment to truth. Fillion credits Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA with giving young men a purpose, which evidently involves moving from campus activism to legislative pipe dreams with zero legislative experience. His 'Keep Iowa Great!' slogan is a bold rebrand of a phrase that worked so well for someone else, and he insists his generation is 'going in the right direction'—provided they actually show up to vote instead of just posting about it on TikTok.
Why This Matters
For the average Iowan voter, this story should be read as a warning shot: the conservative machine is now recruiting from the youngest possible demographic to push the same old tax-cut-and-tough-on-crime agenda, but with a fresh, unlined face. Fillion's candidacy is less about a concrete policy platform—'eliminate property taxes' is a bumper sticker, not a budget plan—and more about normalizing the idea that youth and zeal can replace experience and competence. If this works, expect a wave of Gen Z candidates delivering red-meat talking points with the same earnestness they deliver a Hawaiian pizza.