A young Waltham Republican is challenging State Rep. John Lawn, D-Watertown, in the coming election.

Francis Stanton, a 24 year-old Waltham native, told Waltham Patch yesterday he is running for the 10^th Middlesex state representative seat in the fall election. The seat includes parts of Waltham, Watertown, and Newton. 

Stanton, a 2006 Waltham High School graduate, said he was running for a couple of reasons. First, he wanted to make sure Lawn, a Watertown Democrat, did not run unopposed. Also, seeing the recently redistricted map, which he believes favor keeping Lawn in office for years to come, Stanton felt compelled to run.

“There should at least be a choice for the voters in November,” Stanton said.

Lawn recently announced he is running for reelection.

Stanton, who is currently attending Boston College to get a Masters in Education, said he would push two issues if elected – settling the fate of the Fernald site in Waltham and creating more jobs in the local economy. 

“It’s the regulations that sort of strangle holding the young … entrepreneurs,” Stanton said.

Stanton, who a 2010 graduate of Siena College recently turned his 181 signatures to be certified for the ballot.