West Virginia elected 18-year-old Saira Blair, who attends West Virginia University, to be a state delegate, making her the youngest delegate in West Virginia history, The Washington Post reported.
Blair beat Democrat Layne Diehl, 44, in May for the delegate position for the Martinsburg-area district, according to The Post. She won almost 63 percent of the votes.
"Today, the voters of the 59th District in the great state of West Virginia sent a clear message that the path to prosperity and success is rooted in conservative values and principles," Blair said on her campaign's Facebook page. Blair identifies as a Republican and said she will bring more jobs to the state.
She is the daughter of Craig Blair, a state Senator, who donated about $3,600 to Blair's campaign, Time.com reported.
According to her website, some of her endorsements include the National Rifle Association, West Virginians For Life, and many coal-focused groups. She is a pro-gun candidate, and has pictures of herself holding and aiming a gun.
Now that she has been elected, she is going to take the Spring semester off in order attend legislature's 60-day session. She will make up her classes in Summer and Fall semesters.
Blair, who was only 17 when she was elected in May, will represent the 59th district of West Virginia with a population of 18,000 people, according to Time.
Besides being anti-gay and anti-abortion, Blair is also a supporter of voter ID laws. She decided to run for a seat after attending a youth program called Youth and Government.
"I decided to run because I attended a program called Youth and Government, where 300 students go down to Charleston, they write a bill, they hear it in committee, and they bring it out on house floor," Blair told Time in an interview.
"After hearing some of the bills that students came up with, and seeing that they were fully capable of doing the job that people 40, 50, years older than them were doing, I realized that I didn't have to wait," she added.
