Democratic Candidate in the Spotlight: Katie Hill of California’s 25th District

Of all the congressional districts that cover any part of Los Angeles County, California’s 25th is the only one that is currently represented by a Republican. Katie Hill is trying to change that.

She grew up in the district, where her parents worked as a police officer and a registered nurse, and she now still lives there “on a farm in Agua Dulce with her husband Kenny, and their kids,” though her website is quick to clarify that by “kids” she means their baby goats from the farm.

After graduating from Cal State, Northridge, with a BA in English, and a Masters in Public Administration, Hill worked as the Executive Director for a non-profit focused on affordable housing, called PATH.

Now, she’s notably positioned to be only the second openly bisexual person to serve in Congress, and to do it she’ll have to take down the aforementioned Republican incumbent, Steve Knight, who is firmly anti-LGBTQ in his policies and rhetoric. Knight would be a disastrous choice for the office, in regards to practically every key issue. He has supported the repeal of the ACA, supported the building of the Keystone Pipeline, opposed environmental reform, opposed gun control legislation, and supported the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Hill, who announced her candidacy at the age of 29, has taken a bit of a different approach to her campaigning, and it seems to be working. She has released a series of videos of herself talking about the issues which you can see here. The first of these features her climbing a rock face not far from her home, and among the others, has been spreading amongst her constituents steadily, showing how much these issues resonate with those in her district.

Hill has refused to accept any money at all from corporations and Super-PACs, saying “it would be a disservice to you if your representative was beholden to something outside of you and your family’s best interest.”

She has also refused to respond to negative ads targeting her and her campaign, stating, “…our community deserves better. We are tired of politics as usual, and I am running to give the people of the 25th District something to vote for, not just someone to vote against.”

The 25th District has gone either way in recent elections, but with your support, Hill’s values and energy might just be enough to turn this historically “purple” district blue.

To donate to Katie Hill’s campaign, you can get started by rounding up your spare change here with GroundUp, the grassroots fundraising platform helping you to fund Democrats.