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Ep. 31: The Texas Congressional Race Getting National Attention (Katy Padilla-Stout)
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Texas's 23rd congressional district just got a whole lot more interesting. Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez resigned amid a sex scandal, leaving 800,000 Texans without representation — and Greg Abbott refuses to call a special election. Katy Padilla-Stout, a San Antonio attorney, former teacher, child welfare advocate, and mom of four, won a four-way Democratic primary outright on just $50K. Now she's taking on "AK Guy" Brandon Herrera — a gunfluencer with Nazi-adjacent baggage who wasn't even registered to vote when he first ran — in one of the most competitive and diverse congressional districts in the country.
Kate and Alex dig into what's really at stake in TX-23, why this race is winnable, and why the district has never elected an extremist — or a congresswoman. Yet.
Plus: Kate got promoted in the military (views expressed here are her own). Alex launched his law firm. And Katy is spending her 41st birthday watching the Devil Wears Prada sequel with her closest friends.
In this episode:
- The Tony Gonzalez scandal: what actually happened with his staffer, and why it's worse than you think
- Who is Brandon Herrera, her opponent? His YouTube channel, his Confederate ties, and his joke about veterans
- TX-23 geography: 800 miles of border, 26+ counties, and why you have to win both Bexar and the rural
- National support: Jamie Raskin's group, EMILY's List, MoveOn, and the Hispanic Caucus Gold Pack
- Running for Congress with four kids, including two she adopted
- The poll showing Katy within margin of error against Herrera despite Trump's +12 in the district
Support Katy:
Website: katyforcongress.com
Socials: @katy4congress on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook
Support the show:
Love what we're doing? Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast — just a few dollars a month keeps independent Texas media alive. And if you can't spare the cash, a five-star review goes just as far. God bless Texas. 🤠
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Mission Texas Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Howdy. This is Mission Texas. A political podcast about winning Texas by 2032 or else we may lose the White House for a generation. I'm one of your hosts, Alex Clark.
00:00:13
Speaker
And I am Kate Rumsey. Other podcasts may focus on the day-to-day the next election. But we are keeping the eyes of Texas on the bigger prize.
Texas's 23rd District Race Overview
00:00:23
Speaker
What happens after the next census?
00:00:26
Speaker
Howdy and welcome back to another exciting episode of Mission Texas. Texas's sprawling 23rd congressional district is up for grabs here in 2026. With Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez abruptly resigning amid a sex scandal.
00:00:42
Speaker
The Democratic nominee and I actually have a lot in common. You can find me on Instagram as teacher, veteran, lawyer, dad. You might call her teacher, lawyer, mom. ah Her name is Katie Padilla-Stout, a 40-year-old San Antonio-based attorney, former teacher and child welfare welfare advocate. Welcome to the podcast.
00:01:01
Speaker
Thank you so much. I'm so honored to be here. And 40-year-old, you really mean that lovingly. And she's very young, Alex. or so Yeah, younger than me. much much younger than the average member of Congress.
00:01:14
Speaker
yeah I will say you if you're feeling um a certain way about being 40, you can enter politics and you will feel very happy. Yeah, I know. ah Gosh, we need more young people and folks that actually know what it's like to raise children and have a working class job like yourself. I mean, I'm just amazed as someone who also ran as anyone who has kids and are running now for Congress. So tell us about why you got into this race,
Katie Padilla-Stout's Background and Motivation
00:01:43
Speaker
Katie.
00:01:43
Speaker
And in quick fact, average age, 58. fifty eight Oh, gosh. um So I thought you said it's raised for a multitude of different reasons. But I think like everyone else, I was just waking up to news story after news story of our leaders just not being representative of the people that they're representing and not being approachable and not being able to connect. And I just felt this call to, you know, kind of fill that gap.
00:02:09
Speaker
And i felt like my training and experience between to being a teacher and being a lawyer and being a mom, like you said, being a working mom outside of the home, I just had a different perspective and one that I wasn't seeing represented there in Congress.
00:02:23
Speaker
Well, let's let's go even further back. Like, I love to know about people's origin stories. How did they even get started? Like, what what drew you to politics at all in the first place? Did you grow up in a political home?
00:02:35
Speaker
Yes and no. So politics was definitely on the dinner table agenda probably, you know, since I was little. i think one of my earliest memories is my mom being the manager for a district attorney campaign here in Bexar County. And she, it was like the old time stakes where they had like the yard signs. And so you had to like, put her the nail in. And somehow she like hammered her hand. And so I remember no Like she took me with her to the ER yard and, you know, they tended to her Then we went back to the campaign party because it was like election watch. So when she says she put her blood, sweat and tears into that campaign, she, she actually did. I was an attorney of his county. I guess when I was like in fifth grade or something around that time, maybe sixth grade. And then he served as a different county chair.
00:03:25
Speaker
I married someone who was incredibly into politics more so than even but I was. And so we, you know, hit it off and he had run some campaigns or worked on some campaigns. So it's always kind of been in the background. um i didn't think that I would necessarily jump into running for
Race Dynamics and Opponents
00:03:42
Speaker
Congress. I think everybody thinks like, oh, you know, Are you going to run for judge? And, you know, for whatever reason, that just didn't appeal to me. But helping people and being able to meet their needs and representing people, I think, is my strong suit and what I would like to do. i think judges have a really important role, but I think it would be really hard for me to not advocate.
00:04:01
Speaker
So I think that's more of my strong suit. Absolutely. Yeah. Well, can you give us some context on this race and catch us up? Because it seems like now there was some tragedy that happened, but also potentially opportunity. You're now in a race where there's no incumbent, right?
00:04:16
Speaker
That's correct. That's correct. I'm also in a race with someone who has run ah two primaries and has lost gold or has not been able to win gold. So that's encouraging. We actually out-fundraised him this last quarter. i did receive 7,000 more votes than Mr. Gonzalez or Mr. Herrera. So that's also good. You know, more money, more votes is definitely a winning strategy.
00:04:39
Speaker
Amazing. Yeah, I mean, it seemed like I i remember just for our listeners that the incumbent Tony Gonzalez stepped down. It was amidst the like Eric Swalwell drama that was happening. And ah now it's stepped down.
00:04:52
Speaker
so you have somebody who I recall, somebody they call him the AK guy. Is that right? Like the gun fluencer. Yeah, the gun influence. I mean, I don't think they call him that. I think that's what he calls himself. ah Though to be fair, he has like what, four million followers on YouTube or something?
00:05:08
Speaker
I'm not sure how many, but he does have quite a bit. Let's talk about him because you might think he's actually quite old considering his viewpoints are in his fascination with the 1930s.
00:05:20
Speaker
But ah you tell us in your own words, um what we ought to know about Mr. Brandon Herrera. Well, I think what caused me alarm because he had run the first time and had come for last cycle and it had come pretty close. I think he only lost by a little under 400 votes. And they're off to Gonzalez. And that was prior to Gonzalez's scandal.
00:05:40
Speaker
And so it was really, you know, from my perspective, it was likely that he was going to be the nominee, right? Everyone was like, oh, this is such a big surprise. But looking back, I mean, I was terrified last time when he came that close and they see him run again. And then they see that, you know, Mr. Gonzalez now had a scandal in front of him after reading the text messages. We kind of, i assumed, right? It was like, okay, she's in his office. He's a congressman. She's probably enamored with him. You that sort of trap like classic story, right? And then when you read the text messages, you just realize it was so much worse that he was so predatory towards her. And she was actively trying to push him away. and I think as a woman who has to work in you know, has to work in a lot of male dominated fields, right? If you're not going to pick certain fields, there's going to be a lot of men around. And to use your power like that and to try to subvert your subordinate, somebody that you have ah a lot of power on. And you live in a smallish town, right? You've always not cute. It's not like there's other opportunities.
00:06:44
Speaker
i mean, i think they were talking about sort of the pathway forward with this race. And I'm heartened by the fact that you've gotten a lot of national attention about the race and national
Campaign Support and Endorsements
00:06:54
Speaker
groups. So can you speak to that?
00:06:56
Speaker
Sure. So I think a lot of people are really excited about this. We're talking to people from all over the country every day of the week. And so one of the ones that's really exciting is Jamie Raskin's group has come on board. And so we're on the yes it's said we're on the process of onboarding with them, which is really exciting. So we're going be able to send some interns to their JFA program, their fellowship program. So anybody in the area, in the district, college student that wants to apply, we encourage you to do that. That'll be on our website soon. It'll be fully paid for by their foundation and by us. So great opportunity and to get some really hands-on experience on a really great campaign. So we're really, really excited to work with them. i am flying to DC on Tuesday to be at the Emily Bliss Gala and one of their featured panelists. So that is also incredibly exciting.
00:07:48
Speaker
We also have Her Bold Move, which is a really great organization, another national platform. and that we've been able to be a part of. We were recently endorsed by MoveOn, which has about 800,000 followers. So we're really excited about that one as well. And then also the CHC, the Hispanic Caucus, Bold Path, has also endorsed us. And so, yes we're just, and the Giffords Foundation has let us know that we will know very, very soon. So fingers crossed for that. and But we are hopeful that Giffords will come on board as well.
00:08:20
Speaker
I learned from the West Wing that Emily's list is an acronym. and Emily stands for early money is like yeast as it makes the dough rise.
00:08:32
Speaker
And I love that. And we we need we need you to have early money so that you can make good decisions for your campaign and that you can kind of establish yourself for other donors who feel sort of encouraged to continue the funding.
00:08:46
Speaker
If you're listening and you're thinking, hey, I want to help flip this seat out in Texas 23, now is the best time. Yesterday was the best time. Now is the next best time. So let's get let's get that money over to you just as quickly as we can.
00:09:00
Speaker
Yes, katieforkongress.com, K-A-T-Y, and then F-O-R. So katieforkongress.com. We'd love to have your support. We've also gotten really like great support from individuals that are you know people that have founded Metallica, like ACDC, I guess. No way. What? I love both of those bands. That's incredible.
00:09:23
Speaker
Okay, when are they going to have a concert for you out there? I know, right? That'd be sweet. So that was exciting. i don't know how people are hearing about this or, you know, what's compelling them to be able to run.
00:09:34
Speaker
One day I was like, something must have gone over at Google because I think we got 10 maps out from like Google employees. Or like somebody must have said like, hey, let's all help this girl. ah Because we got a lot of that. And so it's nice to just see these little surprises that come in the mail or, you know, through our website day to day. So it's exciting to see the momentum grow.
00:09:53
Speaker
I see two things. I see one, you have a very positive life story and platform. But now also because of this horrible scandal tragedy, terrible thing that's happened, you have just an incredibly extreme opponent to run against. And in the age of negative partisanship, that can also be a very motivating factor.
00:10:13
Speaker
They might like you, but they might be terrified of him. And that might be part of their motivation as well. So can you tell... Can you tell our listeners, I mean, who the uninitiated, assume they know nothing about him or this race.
00:10:25
Speaker
Like, where do we even start?
Controversies and District Demographics
00:10:27
Speaker
So I would say you can just spend 10 minutes on his YouTube channel and you'd probably get an idea of you know what he stands for. Yeah, his own words. His own words would do the best with that.
00:10:39
Speaker
and But I think a lot of people are really concerned that he gives a platform to people who shouldn't have a platform, right? That he's kind of elevating Mein Kampf or, you know, using the term ghetto blaster for particular assault weapons that were, you know, during the Holocaust, that sort of thing.
00:10:57
Speaker
And so that is really concerning. he joined the sense of the Confederacy at 12. And people seem to think, you know, well that can be a historical organization and such. But somebody that's been there for that long and that kind of a a mentality is fearful, right? I feel, I feel fearful that for my kids. especially in a day and age when the 23rd is incredibly diverse. We don't just have, you know, one type of voter or one type of family or one type of issue. And I think the majority of people, yes, they're terrified of him, right? Because he makes his money as it a gun manufacturer or an influencer on YouTube. He doesn't have any kind of like formal training or a traditional job. He's not from Texas. He moved here in 2021. From North Carolina, a former Confederate state.
00:11:44
Speaker
Correct, from North Carolina. And he wasn't even registered to vote the first time he ran. Like the first time he ran against Gonzalez, he was not registered. He just moved here.
00:11:55
Speaker
and He had to no time to register, but he didn't register. So he doesn't have a voting history. To me, it's pretty clear that it's it's easy to extrapolate. And he is doing this for monetary reasons, right? He's trying to grow faith. He's trying to help his gun manufacturing business. He's, you know, gone on record saying the reason he was, you know, emboldened to run the first time or interested in running the first time is because Mr. Herrera had signed a safe school bill in regard to Uvalde. It didn't really affect Texas as much, but apparently it affected his manufacturing business in some way. So this was kind of to settle that score, you know, monetarily.
00:12:31
Speaker
So there's just a lot of different things going on there. And the fact that a lot of people were at a time where they just want adults in the room, you know, people with level heads, people who can hear both sides. And you guys know as attorneys, we can't do our job unless I know my position, but I also know your position. And so i think this field in particular and teaching as well really trains us to have that sort of empathetic tool or strategy in our school belt.
00:12:57
Speaker
to be able to say, hey, this is what I think, but let me step in your shoes. What are you saying? Like, how do you feel about this? And kind of come to a logical conclusion together. And so I think people are just really drawn by the fact that we're pretty common sense, right? Like, it's hard to keep me as like an extreme liberal when I drive a minivan and i have four children and I'm a TV room mom. Like, you know, that's that's a little hard. You look woke. Yeah. why That's a little hard sell. I'm from here. My dad's from South Texas. You know, I have family down there.
00:13:27
Speaker
So that's something that has made this unique too, is everyone's like, the district district is so large. Like, that's true, but I've spent my whole life growing up in half of the district, right? And so now we're going into El Paso and West Texas, where we've been multiple times, you know, for vacation. So it's not, it's been feasible and it's been doable.
00:13:44
Speaker
Well, Kit, on that, can you give us some geographic scope and also the diversity of the district? You're touching upon it. This is a quite large district. And tell us more about the things that you're wanting for the district for Well, I think it's probably one of the most most diverse districts in the United States. It's been subject to two Supreme Court cases as a showcase of, you know, gerrymandering in its essence of what it is would be the 23rd. Speaking of the Supreme Court right now, right?
00:14:10
Speaker
um So as we know, they're supposed to form, you know, communities of interest, which is hard to argue here when we have 800 miles of border that stretches all the way from El Paso down to San Antonio. down to Uvalde.
00:14:24
Speaker
We have 26 counties, 28 counties if we're going into the old maps for a special election. So there's just a lot of diversity. Obviously, anybody who's going to win this district needs to win Bayer. Bayer is where the majority of the votes are, but you cannot win this with only Bayer. You have got to get out into the rural areas. You need that rural support. And so you have to be able to go back and forth from both.
00:14:48
Speaker
And I think a lot of candidates struggle with that. They're either comfortable in the city or they're comfortable in the rural and it's hard for them to switch back and forth. I've switched back and forth my whole life. So that doesn't, it doesn't bother me at all. I'm just as home in El Paso as I am, you know, in Stone Oak or Divinity and Herons.
00:15:02
Speaker
I'm glad you brought up Bexar County and San Antonio in particular, because I spent the first four years out of college in San Antonio as a teacher and then joining the Air Force and bringing it up that specifically because Look, San Antonio military city, USA, right? Like I would have to think it has like the highest veteran population per capita in the country. I know Texas has the largest number of veterans period in the state, like keeping ah compared to any other state.
00:15:29
Speaker
I wanted to ask you about something in particular your opponent has said. Look, I love dark humor just as much as the next veteran. You know, Kate, I'm sure has heard her share of off color remarks during her time in the service.
00:15:45
Speaker
But something Brandon Herrera said when I was doing my research on this really stood out to me. he he he basically joked about veteran suicide. And that seemed a little beyond the pale, even even for vets.
00:15:59
Speaker
You know, he he said that I think about, you know, I'm paraphrasing here, I think about suicide all the time. that I guess that makes me an honorary veteran.
00:16:09
Speaker
Didn't sit right with me. um do do you have any response to that? And how how do you approach campaigning for the veteran vote differently than than your opponent?
00:16:21
Speaker
So I will say that I have a deep love for a military, deep respect for a military. And that comment in particular was one that kind of really pushed me over the edge to run as well, just because I found that to be so inflammatory. But if he was saying it in response to them asking if he was a veteran. Because I think everyone is interested. Like you're so interested in guns and you like have this, like, you know where that would be great. That would be great if you joined the military, right? Look, the army raised their enlistment age to 42. So go ahead. You know, I can direct you to where you can go sign up, brother. yeah Exactly. And in speaking with my friends that are in the military, I think it's just really offensive when people are like, oh, like I would have joined, but you know, I this or that, right?
00:17:05
Speaker
Kind of discounting the people that actually did stand up and did serve. I almost served. I almost served. And so he goes like, you know, 20 steps beyond that and says, well, I think I'm an honorary veteran because I think about, you know putting it out of my mouth Is that a title you can bestow upon yourself? Honorary veteran?
00:17:24
Speaker
When he loses to Katie, he can sign up. ah That'll be great. There's a fallback job waiting for him. Adoption for you, buddy. ah You can go do that. And so we have had a lot of veterans come out to me and just say like they're completely appalled. And so we are really trying to build our veteran coalition.
00:17:42
Speaker
And so that's something that we're really excited to do. My sister and i do have different fathers. And so her father served in Vietnam, but it was a huge part of my life. And i saw him struggle with PTSD in his entire life. Right. And he, um you know, was unable to do a surgery because he was so scared of PTSD, a surgery that would have saved his life. And he unfortunately passed away. And so watching someone you love have to endure that type of trauma and try to endure that type of trauma.
00:18:13
Speaker
you know, payment to our country for what they've done. And then to have somebody say something that off the cuff is just really, really offensive. And is not someone I personally want representing myself or my family in Congress.
00:18:25
Speaker
Well, I think it's just we've gone topsy-turvy, it feels like, that Republicans are saying these things. And you've got also people like Kikhegsa who are trying to take benefits away from our veteran communities, like our disability ah payments. And it's just like, how did we get here? And we also have a large number of veterans who are voting and not only voting, but running. And it just, it seems like we talked to Christian Carranza, who's ah running for state house in the San Antonio area. And She's saying that like when she goes and knocks doors in the veteran community, it's like they she realizes that they're paying attention and they're really stepping up and understanding the gravity of these races. Even now with we talked to her back in October now with what's going on in the conflict in Iran.
00:19:09
Speaker
So I wonder, like, you know, how do you perceive all of that as a member of Congress? You will have the power
Congressional Representation and Political Concerns
00:19:14
Speaker
of the purse. And right now we don't even have a Congress who's stepping in to say to do anything about what's what's going on in this war.
00:19:21
Speaker
They're not declaring war and they're not even going to say they don't approve. Absolutely. I mean, I think Congress has been absent in this whole, you know, conflict that we're in right now. And unfortunately, you know, our soldiers are paying for that conflict with their lives. And that is just unacceptable.
00:19:38
Speaker
you have to be able to go through the proper channels in order to do that. And there's a reason there's these checks and balances that should be in place. And I think that that's really upsetting to a lot of Americans because what we thought was a safe protocol and what we thought, you know, would be able to safeguard us against things like this is just not in place right now. But I think we're going to have an opportunity to get to the ballot box, right? We're get opportunity to say, we are not going to put up with this, right? Like you are going to have to listen to us. You have to be able to be accountable to someone. And I think they're gonna send a very loud message to be able to do that. will say that I think, you know, the cuts to our veterans and not being able to provide them with housing and the medical services that they need and the counseling services that they need. I'm not sure if you heard how that was just cut even more than already was. Just seems like the last thing we should be cutting, right? Like a budget is nothing more than your priorities. And so,
00:20:34
Speaker
You know, show me your dollars, show me what you're spending your money on. That's your priority. And so a government's priority should be its people. And we are spending money on anything but our people, right? Anything but helping them. And so people want to say, oh, that's socialism or oh, that's, you know, whatever it is. No, it's not, right? We have always counted on the government to be able to do the government's job. And right now it's not it.
00:20:57
Speaker
100 percent. Yeah. Well, before we lose the thread, I we talked a little bit about how Tony Gonzalez stepped down. Can you catch us up on is there a special election? Like what what's happening? Like, are we going to have no representation like we had Christian Menefee in his district out in Houston for so long? You know, i thought it was so interesting that we, you know, Tony resigned at midnight and then it was tax day.
00:21:19
Speaker
Right. And myself, along with thousands of other Texans in the 23rd, had to send a check to the government. We have no representation. And so talk about taxation without representation. We're just expected to do this and not have a voice and not be able to, you know.
00:21:34
Speaker
And there's lots of things, obviously, that your member of Congress does. That's kind of the nuts and bolts of the office that needs their signature, that needs their help. They have to serve on caucuses. They have to try to get you money, like those sorts of things that your communities need. And the fact that Greg Abbott doesn't think it's an emergency for 800,000 people to go without representation while you're actively taking our tax money just blows my mind.
00:21:58
Speaker
Governor Abbott putting party before state, before the Texans that he governs, guess not all that surprising. and exactly It's really a shame. And I think it speaks to a broader trend we're seeing within the Republican Party of Texas.
00:22:14
Speaker
um Up in Amarillo, there's a lawsuit that the party filed to close its primaries to only card carrying members. We talk a lot about how many veterans are in the state, right? It's like one and a half million veterans.
00:22:28
Speaker
Polling suggests that over half of them, something like 55% of veterans identify as independent. And so you're telling 750,000 plus independent veterans, we don't want you to show up in our primary.
00:22:43
Speaker
o So Greg Abbott hasn't come out against that. Ken Paxton has not only come out for it, he filed a consent judgment, which as a lawyer, you know, is ah as a crazy move.
00:22:56
Speaker
Your job whenever the state of Texas is sued is to go defend the state of Texas. we Instead, he's like, no, I agree with the Republican Party. i I serve the party more than I serve Texans.
00:23:09
Speaker
And so there seems to be a trend here. um i like that you've already identified the financial reasons why Brandon Herrera is getting into this, but let's zoom out a little bit. What what do you think's going on with Republicans in this state kind of taking veterans for granted?
00:23:26
Speaker
you think that they've just been in power for so long that they... Or just people for granted, you know, they're taking the people for granted. Absolutely. Well, I just, you know, it's one of the things we talk about, you know, in our household quite a bit is like how did the Republicans have this lock on the party of family values and the party of, you know, patriotism, that sort of thing, when i feel like we are patriotic, right? Like, I have a flag line in my front yard right now. Like, I teach my children those things, right?
00:23:53
Speaker
We visit their grandfather, you know, at Fort Sam Houston and take him flowers and, you know, do all of the things to kind of show them what it means to, you know, honor our veterans and honor their service and talk about that. And we obviously have a lot of family, right? I think making sure that parents have parental leave is family oriented. I think making sure that children have access to health insurance and that their mothers do as well and their parents is family oriented, right? I think being able to feed our seniors is family oriented. I just don't know how we lost that label because I think we are definitely a part of family values and we are definitely patriotic in our sense that we don't want our soldiers to have to go pay a sacrifice that they don't need to do.
00:24:37
Speaker
right that isn't for something that is justifiable and i think that is just as patriotic as saying or more patriotic in my opinion right than saying no let's go ahead and just go to war so that's my personal opinion yeah not too long ago they were running on it right they would say no new wars if you vote for Trump no Kamala will send your sons and daughters to war was was what they would say And look, it's not just rhetoric for you. Your your life exemplifies this whole family-oriented posture, right? Like it's not, you know, theoretical. You taught children. You advocate for children as an attorney.
00:25:13
Speaker
You have four children, yeah including two including two that you adopted. Has mr Herrera adopted any children? Has he taught kids? Has he advocated for them? Or is he mostly just doing these silly gunfluencer videos? You know, like what has he actually done to suggest that he cares about anybody other than himself?
00:25:34
Speaker
I think that that's the question that I hope voters ask themselves, right? Because we really need to be putting people in leadership who want to serve people.
Balancing Life and Campaign
00:25:43
Speaker
And it's been interesting to me, like I return phone calls that I get from different constituents or people that have organizations and they're they are always shocked at that I call them. and They're like no one has ever called us.
00:25:53
Speaker
like We're lucky we get an email back. like And that just is so mind boggling to me. I'm like, what were you doing? Like, that's your job, right? Your job is to represent these people and talk to these people and bring them to the table and make sure that their interests are served.
00:26:06
Speaker
So I'm hopeful that the voters will decide and that they want somebody who has a pattern of wanting to help other people and advocate for them and lead in someone who can listen. But going back to the special election, i think it is very telling that they don't want to have a special election because I think if they knew they could win a special election, we would be having one in 36 days.
00:26:27
Speaker
Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah. They don't think they can win right now. Maybe they think in a few months they would and they have to face the voters in November. But I want to go back to being a mom running for Congress. I mean, tell us a little bit about that. Like, how are you doing it all? I mean, I ran for office and had a full time job and a one year old. And one of my pet projects on this podcast is to eliminate what it's like to run for office so that we can get more people, working class, parents running for office. We need more people like you. There's a reason why we have people who are retired or older or have independent wealth that are running because it's
00:27:02
Speaker
They have, you know, the time to do it, but we need people who know what it's like to pay for daycare or they know what a cost of a gallon of milk is and eggs.
00:27:12
Speaker
ah So tell us about how you are running as a mom, like the logistics, you know, every day and the realities. So we are, you know, we're incredibly, we're incredibly lucky. We're incredibly blessed. My parents are really, really active in my children's lives. So when we had our fourth child, my mother retired. And I will say that was an incredible game changer for us because up until that point, someone gets sick, right? You're in daycare. We're having to do this whole, you know, run around. We're both in trial. Like, what do we do? you know, that sort of thing. And so having my mom retire was probably the biggest blessing we've ever had. And so she has been here almost every day for the last seven years. And so there is absolutely no way i could do this without basically a clone of myself that can be
00:27:57
Speaker
I've been with my children and cook for them and bathe them and, you know, get them ready for bed. I mean, my mom can do the entire thing. My husband is incredibly supportive, but my dad is also here every single weekend. So he lives two hours away and has since I was in fifth grade when he moved from San Antonio. And we had always made a pact that we would not go more than two weeks without seeing each other.
00:28:19
Speaker
but when I was working in D.C., he would fly to D.C., you know, every two weeks to come and see me. And, you know, so he's here all the time with the kids. And so, we're able to really have that, you know, okay, you're going here, like we have a birthday party, you know, Ava's got a 5K, I've got to go to this campaign event, okay, who's picking who?
00:28:36
Speaker
And then we just have a really good community here. I mean, I have amazing mom friends, amazing dad friends who are all on board with this. And they're like, you're changing the world. Like, what can we do? You need to take your kid to piano practice and you pick them up? Like, what what do you need? And so that has just been, I mean, there's no way I could do this without this type of support.
00:28:54
Speaker
But i think when, you know, something my parents taught me is that with a lot of privilege comes responsibility, right? Like I am so privileged to have this community of support that not everybody has. And so what am I going to do with it? Am I just going to say, okay, well, my life's really easy. so I'm just going to keep doing that.
00:29:10
Speaker
Or am I going to say, okay, I am i'm in this position to where I have a lot of support system. and My kids are at an age where I feel like this is okay. You know, I can step away. I can do this. And it is a sacrifice.
00:29:22
Speaker
But one of the things we've always done is include the kids somewhere from the very beginning. And so when we were talking about whether or not we were going to run, are we going to run, right? And my kids are right there in that conversation, you know, deciding. And I was like, I don't know that I want to do this. it's Like, right.
00:29:38
Speaker
My life is pretty even keel right now. I don't know that I want to do this. Right. And so I said that to my husband, but my daughter was right there too. And she was like, mom, she's like, sometimes you have to find.
00:29:49
Speaker
Oh my gosh. I love that. Okay. You're right. Let's do it. Let's do it. Yeah. Yeah. And so she was all about like election night. It was so funny to watch her because we would have different numbers come in and she was like, do more votes come in? And I was like, yeah, I think so. was like, see thousand votes came in. She's like, from what precinct? I'm like, I don't know. she's like,
00:30:11
Speaker
ah Like she just runs off to go. She told you to fight and fight you did. i mean, you won a four-way primary outright. No runoff for you. Congratulations.
00:30:24
Speaker
Yes. So that's exciting too. first so that's exciting too Yeah. But now now you get to turn your attention to the general brass tacks. ah the The Cook Report puts this as a lean R district.
00:30:37
Speaker
An R plus seven. That's not nothing. I mean, obviously, Taylor Romet flipped a plus 17 district. and won it by 14 points. Yeah. So, you know, if you got a 31 point swing, you're great. But that would tell us, what is it? He had a strategy for how he was going to navigate that terrain without giving away the secret sauce or divulging anything you don't want out in the public.
00:31:02
Speaker
You know, tell us in broad strokes, what's your plan? Well, number one, I'm incredibly transparent, almost to a fault. My team's like, even my husband's like, you have to share everything about I'm like, I don't mind. dear um But I do think that we have been able to break up the district into a four different parts. So we we have El Paso, we have our circuits there, and our team is very strong there. We have a West Texas team that also includes two of the candidates that ran in the primary helping us there that know the area, that know the people that are able to get there when I'm not able to just, you know, get to Big Bend the next day when they're like, hey, there's an event in here, right? We have Bruce and Gretel that you know, incredible. And then San Antonio is where have been born and raised. I mean, I have so many contacts in San Antonio and so much family in San Antonio and so much support in San Antonio. You know, I taught for seven years, you know, 20 kids at a minimum, but most of the time more like 26, 30 by the end of the year. They've all have families. Like so many of my, you know, kindergartners, parents were like, we told our whole family, right? They're like, I own this business is and we told everybody. And so that whisper campaign goes really far when you, you know, have legitimate roots here. And then in South Texas, you know, I've been practicing down there.
00:32:13
Speaker
So that's been helpful. My dad lives down there. we have family down there. We have friends down there. So we're able to kind of, you know, see the district as a whole, but then also see these individual pieces. I think one thing people are really excited about and were shocked as I was to find out at San Antonio in the 23rd has never had a congresswoman.
00:32:31
Speaker
We have only had male representation. And so I've had a lot of Republican, moderate women come to me and be like, it's time. Like, it is so time. Like, we are so voting free. I can't even believe that is a thing. Yes. Like, how are we here?
00:32:45
Speaker
so I think that's a lot of, that's really exciting for a lot of people, right? And to be able to show our daughters, like, no, we don't just have to be men. and and Women can do this too. And so we actually had our Fiesta medal, if you're familiar with Santa's. I love Fiesta. no And so we have our little Fiesta medal. Can I take a picture and put it on my media? Yeah, yeah, hold it up. Sorry, I'm going to... Oh, sorry, back up just a little bit.
00:33:09
Speaker
Yeah. Right there. Well, okay, we're... yeah she's showing us our medals as Katie, it's the total. So it's really... Y'all don't know about Fiesta. It's hard to kind of explain Fiesta for those who haven't experienced it, but it's not even like a day. It's like...
00:33:24
Speaker
It's 11 days. 11 days worth of parties um and, you know companies and elected officials and nonprofits and everybody, they create these unique little medals and, you know, they they collect them and they pass them out. And it's just a good time. i loved Fiesta when I was in San Antonio. I miss it.
00:33:43
Speaker
I saw a lady on Instagram who was new to San Antonio. It was her first time experiencing Fiesta. And she was like, I don't know why I'm crying. you Like, why am I crying? Right? I always get emotional at Fiesta
Community and Cultural Engagement
00:33:53
Speaker
too. Because there's not that many there's not that many spaces in our country where it's like everybody from like the richest law firm to like the person that can't even afford a parade ticket is all within the same block. They're all having a great time. They're all cheering. The community is so supportive of everyone. And everyone's just there to have a good time.
00:34:13
Speaker
And I think that in our country, we really overlook the power of community. The power of community is the only thing that is gonna defeat what's going on in our country right now, as looking out for our neighbor, as looking out for people that look different than us, right? Making sure that we're all in this together. And so I think guests disagree.
00:34:30
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, like you, I taught in San Antonio. I taught third grade for two years in San Antonio. My wife taught three years um in San Antonio. And our experience was that despite being like the seventh biggest city in the country, it's like a small town. And so I think it's great that you have all these families who are just, you know activating their personal networks and starting those whisper campaigns because it'll get around.
00:34:55
Speaker
yes. i see You know, the polls, it was so funny. My husband was laughing. and He's like, people come up and be like, we're here because like my mom's dentist said that we have to vote for you. And so she told everybody like, We're voting for We're like, i my friend has a choir and this lady in her choir said we have to vote for you. We know what we need to do. We we got to get Coach Popovich to be a a surrogate for you. yeah He's on the right side of like everything in politics. And so obviously he'd be your supporter. And Coach Popovich, I mean, the Spurs are like religion in San Antonio. I remember seeing it was back in the the Trinity era with Ginobili and Parker and
00:35:32
Speaker
and Duncan and I would see like all the shirts and like they would have like the religious like Catholic candles. case what do you Is there a special name for those? can't think of it right now but yeah it's like the vigil candles that they have. Yeah candles okay.
00:35:47
Speaker
Sorry, I was turning to my resident Catholic on the pod. Yeah, I'm Catholic. He's not Catholic, but we welcome him anyway. I mean, speaking of community, may ask, like, I think everyone's experiencing or feeling blue wave coming. And is that how you're feeling on the ground? Like talking to people out on streets? Like,
00:36:05
Speaker
You're telling us that even people from your dentist is going to vote for you. Is that not anecdotal? But I mean, I think that there's a swell there, right? So are you anticipating? And Alex mentioned earlier, it's an R plus six district, meaning people have tried to quantify the district as far as their political leaning. And so like how are you feeling that? Like, are you feeling that pendulum swing?
00:36:26
Speaker
So I'm not sure if y'all saw the House majority pack poll that they they did quite a a long time ago, but not a long time ago, but I guess six weeks ago now. And so the district was still showing Trump as a plus 12 in our district. But for me, Mr. Herrera, they were only two points, which was within the, you know, margin of error. So I think this race is definitely winnable. I think it's a little bit different because these voters have had two elections where Gonzalez has had to attack Herrera, right? And so Gonzalez's base has heard everything about Mr. Herrera, right? They've heard it for years.
00:37:03
Speaker
And so they're not unfamiliar. They are not fans. And so we have a lot of people who supported Gonzalez who are coming over here because this district has elected Republicans. We've elected Democrats. We've never elected an extremist.
00:37:15
Speaker
We've certainly never elected an extremist that's not even from Texas, right? Like that has never happened. And so feel very confident that we're going to get a lot of, you know, common sense Republicans that are coming on board. We're getting, you know, comments into Republican officials that are coming on board. and We just had a fundraiser this past weekend. That was incredible. And just looking around, and like, a fourth of these people are Republicans.
00:37:38
Speaker
And they're so excited. And they're here. And they're opening their wallets. they're asking for yard signs. And they're telling their friends. and So I just think that that is so exciting. We live in an area, my husband and I, where it's pretty red, right? Like, there's just more. We're near Bernie.
00:37:53
Speaker
So there's a lot of people that are, you know, either Trump supporters or, know, conservatives, one of my good friends is, you know, that's on the basketball team. My kids are on the same basketball team.
00:38:04
Speaker
But one of the dads that I knew was like, used to be at least like a really big Trump supporter. He saw me, he was like, every time I see your sign, I get so pumped. I'm like, that's right. Really happy for you. love it.
00:38:17
Speaker
I love your point about the history of the district. i mean, you you point out there has never been a ah woman in that job. And I'm excited to to change that fact. um But you're right. I mean, I'm thinking back to like Republican or Democrat who's who's been in that seat.
00:38:32
Speaker
when I was waiting for law school to start. I did a few months of canvassing ah for Pica Diego. Yes. Also a UT law grad. We've stayed in touch. But Pete and and even even Tony before the scandal came out um and Will Hurd and and everybody, even the Democrats before Pete, like.
00:38:50
Speaker
Yeah, they've all kind of presented as reasonable problem solvers, you know maybe not centrist or moderate, generally speaking, for for each of their respective parties, they really have. I mean, that's kind of been the identity of the district because at least historically, it's been a very like purple district. It's been a very competitive district.
00:39:12
Speaker
It is. And I will say even in Uvalde, I think Uvalde is probably the most purple place I've ever been. And so I went down there during early voting. and we went down there twice. And then my my dad and my son went down a third time. And they were just saying, you know, they're like, no one else has come. Like no one else. and There were eight candidates in this race. And they're like, you're telling me no one has come to be validating during early voting? Like that just blows my mind. And so by the third time when my dad and my son went down, my dad's like, the Republicans are asking for you. They want to know when you're coming back. I'll be back there. that's
00:39:45
Speaker
We would talk to people on the ground and they would say, you know, because they were so close to the heart of that tragedy. They were like, there was no way I was voting for Tony and my uncle is running for JP. So I'm voting after voting the Republican primary.
00:39:58
Speaker
come November, we're to vote for you. And I'm like, OK, that's great. like Do what you got to do. Vote for whoever you went to in the primary and then come on over. So I think it's going to be an exciting time. I think we're going to get a lot of those independent and swing votes and women votes who feel like, hey, it's just time. Like, I want to show my daughter it's time.
00:40:15
Speaker
and for a woman to be able to have this seat. And so I think it's going to be good. but So tactically, and i'll and I'll pass it to Kate after this, but what can you do to signal to these Tony supporters who are, you know, uncomfortable with Herrera,
00:40:31
Speaker
Like how can you create a permission structure? what are you already doing? What will you be doing to make it be like, hey, there's a safe place in our campaign. you can You can be here without abandoning everything you believe.
00:40:42
Speaker
You can support me without necessarily becoming a ah card carrying Democrat. Yes, exactly. um one of the candidates I love said, you know, if you can't vote for a Democrat, that's fine. You can stay home. Either those options are okay. Okay.
00:40:57
Speaker
and So I think just being able to say our whole mission has been people over politics, right? In families first. So whatever that family looks like for you, whatever it is, none of us want to be paying $700 for cavities when our kids, you know, need a dental filling. None of us want to be paying $700 a week for groceries because inflation is so high.
00:41:17
Speaker
None of us want to have to look and say, oh my gosh, why is my gas bill $100 every time I go to fill up now, right? Like we're all having the same struggles, And so it's not about red versus blue. And I don't think it has been for a long time, right? It's us versus the billionaires. It's us versus the people that have all this privilege. Like it is not red versus blue at all. It is people over politics. Are we going to serve the majority and, you know, state make a stand for that or are we not? And I think there are a lot of people that are willing to do that in, you know, judge races. i't know how you feel about it, but I think they should be nonpartisan.
00:41:52
Speaker
right? And I almost feel like members of Congress should be non-partisan. Or not even have them, honestly. I don't know. Yeah, my working title for my law review submission, ended up changing it to make it more PC, but my working title matches the substance was, why electing judges is bullshit?
00:42:13
Speaker
There's a lot of reasons about that. Yeah, it's like, I mean, I've learned a lot about politics, a lot about, you know, how things work behind behind the scenes, right? But I'm here just to meet people. Like, I think people get a genuine sense of how much I just enjoy working with people, working with kids. That's kind of my passion. And so when I started, everyone was just like, you're going to need at least a million dollars for this primary. You're probably going to need 1.5 billion. Like, I don't know how you're going to do that. Like, good luck, you know? And I'm like, yeah I don't know either, but we'll see what happens. We'll figure it out, right? Like,
00:42:40
Speaker
We work as hard as we can and we'll see. And what's the worst that could happen, right? If you don't win a primary, like, okay. Life goes on. Life goes on. What is the cost here? i mean so we did it with $50,000 and we won, we know, outright. Wow.
00:42:56
Speaker
Wow. Do you. Wow. And we won a four-way primary outright with 50
Vision for Representation and Personal Updates
00:43:01
Speaker
grand. e And that would be, everybody's like, you need 2.5 million. I'm like, I mean,
00:43:08
Speaker
um like I don't think we're going to get there, but I don't think we need that. i think people like people, right? And the vote still counts. And there's a reason why they're spending millions of dollars to suppress the vote, right? Because people over power is always going to work.
00:43:20
Speaker
Well, before we head into our last segment, I wanted to ask, like, as people, i i appreciate that we've talked a lot about Brandon, but I also believe that some ways we can't just run against people. We have to be for something. And I appreciate that we're talking a lot about you and your race. And if there were some things that you wanted folks to take away from you every time that you saw them or knocked their door, like that of what you are for, whether that's policy or people or whatever, like what are those main takeaways that you hope people take, like, walk away from when they meet Katie?
00:43:49
Speaker
I just want people to know that I have a good heart and that I'm here to represent people and I'm smart and I'm a heart worker, right? And I'm going to put all of those skills to work for you, whoever you are, wherever you come from. and you know, my father grew up at a time in South Texas where they still had segregated schools and he stayed at the school that was only for, you know white children and he wouldn't leave. And they finally fed him because he just wouldn't leave. He was like five years old.
00:44:18
Speaker
And they brought him food and he said, thank you. And because he said, thank you, they let him stay. And so he had access to that sort of schooling, education, um and later went on, you know, to go to community to college and then Texas State University when it was Southwest Texas, and then went on to law school, then became a super successful attorney.
00:44:37
Speaker
And I want that American dream for every single person out there, right? I think that this country still needs to be the place where it is the only place in the world where no matter what cards you are dealt, you can make your way out of that with hard work and effort. And you can change your lineage and your trajectory of your family for years and years to come. What I want for my family is the same thing I want for everyone's family, right? And so I'm here to fight for that.
00:45:02
Speaker
That's a very optimistic note. i think it's the perfect time to make the switch over to one of our favorite new segments for the year. It's called Good News, where we talk about something so good in our lives, personal, professional, or whatever.
00:45:16
Speaker
It's just so good, you got to share it Because us Democrats, we got to get more evangelical. We got to be willing to share our gospel, our good news. So we got to get some some reps. We got to get flexing that muscle.
00:45:28
Speaker
what what What in your life is just so good, you got to share it So I will say right now, i am very excited that actually today's the last day you're going able to call me a 40-year-old.
00:45:39
Speaker
Tomorrow is my birthday. Okay, Yay. It was my birthday. Everyone a $41 donation tomorrow. yes To Katie Fadilla's stuff.
00:45:52
Speaker
I'm going to be 41 tomorrow. I'm officially kicked out of the Young Devs. So I guess on your 41st birthday, you can't be in the Young Devs anymore. oh Welcome to the club. Although I guess this is going to come out ah after your birthday. going come out next Thursday. So you already owe her $41 if you're listening to them. I'm donating right now $41. take lady birthday gifts. You know what? Go ahead.
00:46:16
Speaker
hello But we I'm going with 20 of my friends to go see The Devil Wears Promise World, too. Yes. I'm super, super excited about that. Super excited to connect with my friends. I think that female friendship is just, oh my gosh, it's just such a powerhouse.
00:46:35
Speaker
It's incredible. So I'm thankful that I'll be able to hold on to that during this campaign. I'm really excited you mentioned that because I'm a big movie person and I'm really looking forward to this summer. Like we've got a lot of movies coming out and I'm really excited for that one. Cause it's been so long since the original and I am super excited about Devil's Wear, Devil Wears Prada.
00:46:52
Speaker
I was about to ask you, Kate, like, do you have a favorite, like iconic Miranda Priestly quote? I don't know. Like when she, even, I think it's the non quotes. It's like her looks, you know, like she like looks her up and down. It's like, that's all, you know, like that kind of thing. What about you, Katie? Is there, do you have a favorite line?
00:47:09
Speaker
I love when they're like, don't be silly. Everyone wants to be us. Don't be ridiculous, Andrea. Everyone wants this. Everybody wants to be us. How do you say that to my daughter when I'm like, let's put this bow in your hair? She's like, yeah. I'm like, don't be ridiculous. is a Details of your incompetence do not interest me.
00:47:31
Speaker
Or move at a glacier pace. You know how. Move at a glacier pace. Yeah. does I'm hoping it has as many quotes in this one. It's one that it's like the whole cast that are coming back. Yeah. So I'm really interested in that. love when a team gets back together. My show that I've been so excited for, I just finished up, was the new season of Scrubs.
00:47:52
Speaker
Yes. They brought all the original cast people back. And so it's out now. don't have to wait for episode to come out every every week if you want to binge it all. I actually think it was very good. It's tough to do a reboot. And I think that one was good.
00:48:04
Speaker
I'm going to tell you that was her favorite show. I don't even know that she knows that. Yeah. Yeah. yeah scrubs I used to watch Scrubs with my little sister like all the time. We had the DVD sets and we would like do rewatches. Like I love Scrubs. Is that your good news, Alex?
00:48:18
Speaker
I won't let that count as my good news, but it is good news that Scrubs came back and was great. ah My good news is, and the reason why I'm all um suited up is I'm going down to Austin on the Vaughn Lane today. Shout out to Vaughn Lane. In lieu of real infrastructure, we're not sponsored by Vaughn Lane, but Vaughn Lane provides luxury bus service where you can, you know, have reliable Wi-Fi and they will bring you snacks and drinks don't know what that accent is, Alex. I'm trying to do like ah like a paid promotion, but we're not getting paid. So I got to reach out to Vineland and to see if I can get some remuneration. But I'm going down to Austin for the Texas Access to Justice Commission Gala for ah veterans.
00:49:01
Speaker
um It's actually very personal to me because this is where my law partner and I had our first conversation about joining forces. And we basically schemed for about a year to to do it. And um if those of you who have been paying attention to my life, ah know that ah last Thursday,
00:49:19
Speaker
I guess two Thursdays before this episode will air, the public launch of the our law firm, RymanClark.com. ah You know, trial lawyers for tenants and homeowners.
00:49:31
Speaker
And yeah it's blowing and going. Which I imagine you would need in the San Antonio area. so Yeah. And so we represent the Texas Triangle, Austin and San Antonio, all the way out to Houston and back up to Dallas where I'm at and everything in between.
00:49:43
Speaker
Sometimes we'll do other stuff too. We've got we've got an El Paso case we're working up right now. We'll we'll see how that goes. but I have a couple of referrals for you. Oh my God. Yes. All right. Let's terminate some leases. Let's do some repair and remedies. Let's do some insurance companies. Let's do it.
00:49:59
Speaker
all right Well, my good news. I'm excited to go back to the gala where it all started and raise some money for some veterans. Access to legal services. So, Kate, about you?
00:50:10
Speaker
Yeah, well, my good news, other than the movies coming out, which I'm really excited about, Toy Story 5 and Spider-Man and Devil Wears Prada. But I ah speaking in military, I just did a couple days on my base as a reservist. And I i had promoted this last year to major. And that was the first time I got to wear my uniform in my new ranks, which I thought was going to be the best part. But honestly, just going back and seeing, oh Alex is saluting me. i was enlisted. So I feel like I got to I got to do it. Yeah. Yeah. that were Major might my body just reacted.
00:50:41
Speaker
ah But honestly, the best part of going back is just seeing other airmen and experiencing and helping them. And no matter what you feel about what's going on in the Middle East and Iran, like it reminds me every time that these are people going to put their lives on the line and they have hopes and dreams. and I'm honored to be there their wingman and fellow airman, matter the rank. So um it was just a great few days and I'm very blessed to have done it. So that is my good news.
00:51:09
Speaker
That is some major good news. that mean Yeah.
Closing Remarks and Call to Action
00:51:11
Speaker
you get to call me ah Every time you you talk to me, Alex, you have to call me Major Rumsey. Yes, ma'am. yes yes ma'am oh All right. We're heading into our last episode. I have to give a plug to our Patreon. If you want to support us as independent media and help us defray the cost of our podcast, you can become a member of our Patreon for only a few dollars a month.
00:51:30
Speaker
Or you can support us or by giving us a five-star review wherever you get your podcasts and share us on social media. all right, Katie, in last few minutes, we we want you to marshal the troops. You know, I'm in it. i'm a part of your army.
00:51:43
Speaker
What are you going to send us off with as far as our marching orders to flip the state, flip your district? Like, what do you think it's going to take? Are we going to do it? And how are we going to get there? We're absolutely going to do it. And I think the way we're going to do it is by reaching out to everyone we know and making sure that they know. So if everybody can like text 10 people, text 23 people, that would be great.
00:52:04
Speaker
Let them know, remind them. You can also donate. We're going to have a lot of volunteer opportunities. And so please sign up to help us in any way that you can. We have a job for everyone here. You can message us on social media. We will happily respond.
00:52:18
Speaker
And where can, you mentioned it earlier, but remind us, how can we support you? Where can we find you? Sure. So Katie for Congress, K-A-T-Y-F-O-R, katieforkongress.com, or on socials, we are always Katie K-A-T-Y, but for the number four, Congress. And so you can find us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook.
00:52:36
Speaker
Amazing. I find it interesting everyone's handles. Mine is Kate4Texas, but F-O-R. Ours is very similar. um Well, thank you, Katie. We had a blast. Thank you so much for taking your time out of your busy schedule. We're really rooting for you come this fall and maybe a special election. We'll see.
00:52:53
Speaker
ah Probably not. We won't be holding our breath. um But we will see our listeners next week in God bless Texas. You can follow us on all socials at Mission Texas Podcast.
00:53:04
Speaker
Email us at missiontexaspodcast at gmail.com. This episode is edited by Juan Jose Flores. Our music bumper is by Adam Pickerel, and our cover art is by Tino Sohn.