BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — In the 2024 election, 11 candidates are battling over the 20th congressional district seat, formerly held by Bakersfield’s Kevin McCarthy.

17 News political reporter Jenny Huh spoke one-on-one Monday morning with one of the candidates, local security officer Andy Morales.

The 24-year-old has been a lifelong Bakersfield resident within the 20th Congressional District. A 2017 graduate of Frontier High School, Morales went on to study criminology and law enforcement at the California State University, Fresno.

Morales shared he’s the son of a combat veteran father, who served in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and a mother who works in agriculture.

He will soon turn 25, just old enough to be in Congress.

A closer look at Kern’s 2024 primary candidates: 1-on-1 with CD20 hopeful Marisa Wood

Below is a recap of 17 News’ conversation with the candidate.

“I was just so baffled, I was angry with my representative, Kevin McCarthy, and I told myself that day that if I ever had the opportunity to run against him, I was going to execute on that opportunity,” security officer and 20th congressional district candidate Andy Morales told 17 News.

“That day,” Morales explained, was discovering McCarthy had voted for former President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“When I was a freshman in college, I was sitting in my dorm bed and I asked myself, why would Kevin McCarthy pass a piece of legislation where we know all these benefits go to the top 1%?” Morals recalled.

The candidate said that disappointment became the foundation of his campaign. He added he’s long disagreed with the former Congressman’s voting record.

Accordingly, Morales launched his campaign in January 2023, even before McCarthy lost his Speakership.

The lifelong Democrat is running in a primarily Republican district, where McCarthy never lost an election.

A closer look at Kern’s 2024 primary candidates: 1-on-1 with CD20 hopeful Sheriff Mike Boudreaux

But when asked whether he has the confidence he can win over some of those Republican voters, Morales answered, “Yes,” adding he thinks voters would see eye to eye with him, as bank-account issues don’t discriminate by party.

“Now, what politics on Fox News, CNN, OAN, Newsmax might want us to perceive politics is Democrats versus Republicans,” Morales said. “But I don’t see it like that. I see it as people versus the establishment.”

And when pressed on what he can bring to the table as the youngest candidate in the race, Morales stated, “Young is subjective, but like I said, I’m a Gen Z Democrat, I’m 24 years old. I’m as young as they come… But like I said, more importantly, I’m just here to address the concerns of working-class families here in the Central Valley.”

Morales said his top three priorities are healthcare, education and climate change.

Universal healthcare is number one.

“Medical bankruptcy is the top cause of bankruptcy,” Morales said. “We have over half this country living paycheck to paycheck, and college is becoming more and more unaffordable and unreachable for everyone because of rising tuition costs.”

He added: “Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. It should be universal.”

That, for Morales, would include the undocumented.

“If these undocumented people wait until they see the doctor, they’re going to end up in the ER, and it’s going to cost more tax dollars, had we just focused on tax dollars on preventative healthcare.”

Morales argued Medicare for all would actually save taxpayer dollars.

On the southern border, an issue Morales’ Republican opponents are actively campaigning on, Morales proposed expanding resources to the courts. Everyone, Morales said, has due process and should have their cases heard.

Morales also tied concerns over the southern border to a climate crisis, which is why he said he’s for a Green New Deal.

“[Republicans will] absolutely flip their switches when they start seeing caravans in the forms of millions and millions of climate refugees at our southern border, so our lack of action on climate change here in the U.S., we will pay huge amount of tax dollars to address the issue of immigration at our southern border,” Morales emphasized.

He added: “Our own Pentagon has declared climate change a national security threat… resulting in huge immigration crises, a climate refugee crisis at our southern border… This is not an option. We need to start paving the way towards rebuilding our infrastructure, creating millions of good-paying jobs, protecting our natural resources…”

Part of that goal, Morales said, is transitioning to clean energy. Retraining oil workers is a key part of that movement, the candidate explained.

Close

Thanks for signing up!

Watch for us in your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Daily News

“Having [workers] retrained, getting them to unionized jobs, doing something not only for the environment but also their families because the truth of the matter is, these corporations are polluting us, and we gotta do something here in the Central Valley.”

On affordable housing, Morales noted the below.

“These wealthy folks abroad or these corporations [are] just buying up swats of land and building apartment complexes when we could be building houses on that plot of land,” Morales explained. “I think regulation would definitely have to be part of the conversation, if we’re actually going to strive towards affordable housing… how about we just build more houses?”

Morales also said he’s for various voting reform, such as making Election Day a federal holiday, as well as implementing automatic voter registration once citizens turn 18.

“Voters don’t like corrupt politicians,” Morales said. “We have corporations out there that lobby politicians here in the United States… So, let’s call their bluff as Democrats. Let’s call these politicians’ bluff and say, okay, you believe in wasteful spending? So do I. Let’s install universal healthcare, let’s install tuition-free college, and let’s have a surplus moving forward.”

The last point is Morales’ reiteration universal healthcare and free tuition would, according to the candidate, prove a surplus for the country.

The Gen Z candidate stated, he only accepts campaign donations from small-dollar donors, not corporations and not a “dime of PAC money.”

For more details on the candidate’s congressional plans, you can click here for the full interview.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17.