Seventeen-year-old Saira Blair will matriculate at West Virginia University next month. During her first semester, she will also be campaigning for a seat in the West Virginia state legislature. In May, Blair defeated a two-term incumbent in the Republican primary. If she wins in November, she will be the youngest person ever elected to the West Virginia legislature. Blair is the favorite in the 59th House District, which has leaned Republican in recent years. Her father serves in the West Virginia State Senate.
If she wins the election, Blair will take off the spring semester to participate in legislative sessions and then return to the university in the summer and fall. She plans to double major in Spanish and economics.
In remarking how she will handle her studies and political duties, Blair says that she “always stays really busy. I have full faith in myself to do both. I function better when I’m multitasking. I’m known to my friends as the busy girl with a calendar.”
Update: Blair won by a large margin and will be the youngest state legislator in the nation.