(CNN) In most years, Jahana Hayes wouldn't be considered the typical congressional candidate. But in 2018, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year is emblematic of a midterm election season full of fresh faces.

Continuing the recent trend of people running for office who have no formal political experience, Hayes is running as a Democrat for the House seat from Connecticut's 5th District. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., currently represents the district but isn't running again in November.

In her newly released campaign video, Hayes showcases her background: She grew up in a housing project in poverty-stricken Waterbury, was raised by her grandmother while her mother struggled with drug addiction, then became a mom at 17.

Yet she overcame those hurdles, raised her daughter, got her master's degree and became a teacher at Waterbury's John F. Kennedy High School, where she taught for over a decade. In the video, she attributes her success to the support from her community and says it's the same community that she's fighting to represent now.

"This is my home, where people are strong, but they aren't supposed to run for Congress," Hayes says in the ad over images of housing projects in her industrial hometown.

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