The 2018 midterm elections are shaping up to be historic and are garnering an incredible amount of national attention. For one Utah man getting involved in this year’s elections, making history is nothing new.

In 2013, Derek Kitchen, his now husband, and two other same-sex couples sued the state of Utah for denying them their right to marry, and to have the state recognize legal unions coming in from other states. They won the following year, and Kitchen v. Herbert became the case that legalized same-sex marriage in Utah. This helped establish a groundbreaking case law that was cited in the Supreme Court case that led to nationwide marriage equality in 2015. That same year, Kitchen became one of Salt Lake City’s youngest city council members ever.

Now, Kitchen, age 30, is running for state Senate to represent Utah’s Second District. In the current political climate, Kitchen felt the need to run.

“After 2016, myself and most people in the community [felt] disenchanted,” he tells Teen Vogue. “I’m nervous, from a political standpoint. From [a] local government [standpoint], it's my responsibility to participate and drive conversations about policy. That’s what it means to be in government: to get stuff done. My hope is that I can be a champion for local government.”

Historically, Utah has the highest percentage of a single religion among its residents than any state in the country, with more than 60% identifying as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka Mormons. According to a 2017 Gallup poll, Utah is also one of the most conservative states; in general elections, Utah has consistently gone red since 1968, when Richard Nixon won the presidency.

Perhaps because of the high LGBTQ population in Salt Lake City, the seat for Utah's Second District leans more liberal. Tyrell Aagard, vice president of Young Dems of Utah, tells Teen Vogue, “Currently, the state senator for the district, Jim Dabakis, is the only LGBTQ+ person in the legislature, and I know that was a factor for a lot of folks supporting Derek to replace Jim, to not lose that voice.” Dabakis also married his partner in 2013, following Kitchen v. Herbert.

After that decision, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released the following statement: “The Church has been consistent in its support of traditional marriage while teaching that all people should be treated with respect. This ruling by a district court will work its way through the judicial process. We continue to believe that voters in Utah did the right thing by providing clear direction in the state constitution that marriage should be between a man and a woman and we are hopeful that this view will be validated by a higher court."