Cordelia Portman

Matt Cavanaugh, a candidate running to represent the 5th district in Colorado, visits MSHS students on Dec. 5 in order to reach younger voters. Cavanaugh is running as an independent in this upcoming election.

On Dec. 5, 13 students from Manitou Springs High School met with Matt Cavanaugh, a local congressional candidate, during lunch at Savelli’s. Cavanaugh is a father of District 14 students, an author, a veteran and a West Point graduate, who is running to represent Colorado’s 5th district as an independent.

This meeting was held because Cavanaugh recently opened new social media accounts to boost his campaign, and he hoped that this meeting would give him insight on what younger voters who spend time online look for in a candidate.

Yonas Hanson (12) organized the meeting and selected and invited the students. Hanson was introduced to Cavanaugh through Cross Country. Cavanaugh ran with the MSHS cross country team throughout the summer of 2025.

Hanson was unsure of how many students would be interested, but he was ultimately happy with the turnout. “I wasn’t sure if other students would actually be interested in this, but I was super happy with how many students showed up just to learn more about the people who make decisions that directly impact us.”

Some of Cavanaugh’s values within his campaign are restoring security in the American Dream and closing the gap between the Democratic and Republican parties. “I think part of the problem with politics right now is that we have one guy in our entire political system that has forced both of the parties to such extreme partisan corners,” Cavanaugh said. “There are some folks in the far left of the Democratic Party who, to them, Donald Trump could do nothing right ever, and that’s not entirely true. For example, asking the Europeans to pay more for national defense, everybody kind of agrees on that. Then there’s some folks in the Republican Party who, to them, he could execute someone on the front White House lawn, and they would think it’s fine.”

Cavanaugh is running as an Independent, meaning he doesn’t side with the democratic nor the Republican Party. He believes this has its downfalls and its benefits. “When you run as an Independent, you don’t have a political base, that’s a little bit scary, but it’s also an opportunity. Every single person that you see is a potential voter. You don’t discount anybody,” he said.

Cavanaugh sees every voter as an equal opportunity to gain a supporter. “If I get elected to represent the Fifth Congressional District, every single person here is my constituent,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you approach every single encounter that you have as a potential vote?”

Quinn Scott (11), a student who attended this meeting, feels that more candidates should run as Independents. “The two party system is a very dangerous system. So I think it’s very important for him to be running as an Independent and to reach out to young voters like us to get our vote, even though I’m not going to be voting in this upcoming election,” he said.

Scott believes that in person meetings are important for a representative, so they can connect with their voters. “He mentioned that the current representative of district five hasn’t had an in person meeting since he was elected,” he said. “I think that’s a very, very big problem, and I like that he was clear about how he would be more involved with his constituents.”

Similarly, Hanson feels that it is important for politicians to connect with young potential voters. “I think that young people, whether it be at colleges or seniors in high school, should not feel so disconnected from our representatives,” he said. “I think they should come talk to us more, especially because he’s a bit younger than a lot of the politicians right now, I think that just makes him that much easier to connect with.”