KILLEEN, Texas — Different seat, same purpose, that is what an aspiring Killeen politician is saying two weeks after ending his congressional bid for the 31st district seat for the U.S. House of Representatives.
He said he ended his campaign due to the legislature creating a 'donut hole' district in Central Texas.
Jonathan Hildner is a Gold Star son. Being raised by an army general he always wanted to lead.
"From the passing of George Floyd to Brianna Taylor to Vanessa Guillen, there were many opportunities in this community to rally voices," said Hildner.
In July, Hildner, who is a democrat, announced a campaign for congress for the 31st district seat which is currently held by Representative John Carter.
In October, he suspended that campaign due to redistricting by the Texas legislature.
According to the new congressional map, Killeen would be included in District 11, which goes out West and includes cities such as San Angelo, Odessa, and Midland.
"It was frustrating,” said Hildner. I think as a democrat myself it was extremely frustrating, but I think for everybody what you do when you split up a large city like that in a district that expands hours and hours West you lose the voice of that city in total."
Hildner is still pushing forward. On Wednesday, he announced his candidacy for Texas State house District 54.
"For me it is how can I best represent the people in Killeen,” said Hildner. “The people I grew up with, and the people I have grown around for 27 years. We came to the conclusion that HD 54 was that seat.
Hildner said under the new lines, District 31 became a drastically different race by removing the largest minority city from the district.
"We are a city of 153,000 and to kind of minimize that voice by just drawing us out, it hurts," said Hildner.
Hildner will spend the next few weeks organizing his campaign infrastructure and speaking with people in the district.
If elected, the 27-year-old would be the youngest person to serve in the Texas Legislature and is excited for the opportunity to be a millennial leader.