Rick Treviño is hoping to bring his "progressive platform" to District 23. Held by Helotes Republican Will Hurd, the district is often considered one of the most competitive and is a target district for Democrats in 2018.
Treviño recently talked about his campaign and the inspiration for his platform.
The 33-year old from San Antonio entered in the democratic primary earlier this year, following a run for City Council in San Antonio, in which Treviño narrowly missed a run off. A former geography teacher, Treviño took inspiration from his time as a national delegate for Bernie Sanders in 2016 and decided to get politically active.
Speaking on the move from a city council campaign to now eyeing a congressional run, Trevino says it isn't a big jump."I've run into politicians all day long, they're just human beings," Trevino says. "They have set some expectations for regular people that these positions should be filled by these types of people with these types of experiences."
Treviño has found himself in a pretty crowded democratic primary field. There's three other candidates -- Gina Ortiz Jones, Judy Canales and Jay Hulings -- vying for the democratic nomination. Although he's entered the democratic field, Treviño has his critiques of the party, saying "it's lost its way."
The sweeping congressional district runs from San Antonio out towards El Paso and holds about 40 percent of the Texas-Mexico Border. Asked whether he would need to be more moderate in his approach in order to appeal to a wider base, Treviño says he wouldn't do that."I've never seen a democrat win an election running in the center, being Republican lite," says Treviño. "I am not going to compromise these principles and these values."
In this interview, you can hear Rick Treviño talk arfabout the biggest hurdles in his campaign.
