I think sometimes people in general, but especially young people, don’t realize what impact state legislatures have in their lives. As a candidate for assembly in California, can you talk about that?

"Absolutely. It’s a little bit undemocratic that a lot of people are not aware of who their state senator is. We focus so much on the federal-level stuff, on the laws, on the president, even Congress and the United States Senate, that people don't realize that a lot of our daily lives [are] impacted by the laws that are passed right in Sacramento.

"Running for a state-level office has opened my eyes a little bit to that. Because I start discussing issues like taxes with people, and sometimes they’re not as aware that most of these taxes you’re frustrated by — your gas taxes, your state income taxes, "sin" taxes — many of these are decided by people that hail from your own communities and should feel number one beholding to the people of their small districts. They’re not passing laws for the entirety of the country, like your congressmen are, they are passing laws for only this state.

"So, I try to explain to people, if you’re frustrated by some issues that you face in your daily life, then you need to start at your local level for city council and the state legislature. And if you feel your elected officials are not representing you, then you must always reserve the right to vote them out."

Do you have ideas of what you want to do beyond this? Do you want to be involved in politics in the long run or continue to run for office?

"I get asked a lot, 'Is this the career you want to be in?' This is not a career for me. This was a passion that turned into a hobby, and then, as my hobby, I became more passionate about it. It snowballed into this tremendous engagement and activism, but this is not my career path. I care deeply about the future of the country and I care deeply about the size of the government and protecting individuals’ rights to pursue happiness, so that’s what drives me to be involved in this.

"It’s not party politics that I’m interested in. It’s Americans and American lives, and the vast diversity across America being preserved by our government, rather than threatened. And so, I mean, it’s very likely that I’m not going to win. I’m running against a Democratic incumbent in a district with roughly 7% Republicans, so it’s an uphill battle, for sure. But I’m really hoping that at least this race — if I never run again — provides people with an opportunity to hear from a different voice, and provides them with a choice in their ballot."

Editor's note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.