The Green Party candidate who is seeking former U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney’s 5th Congressional District seat admits he’s a long shot in the June 20 special election.

But David Kulma, 32, of Rock Hill, says he’s also in it for the long haul.

“I wanted someone to run on the progressive platform like (Democratic presidential candidate) Bernie Sanders did in 2016,” Kulma said during a campaign stop in Spartanburg Thursday. “The Democrats chose to run (Archie) Parnell, so I chose to run in the Green Party.”

Kulma is one of three third-party candidates in the 5th District race, along with Democratic nominee Parnell and Republican Ralph Norman.

Mulvaney resigned his seat earlier this year to become the White House budget director. The district includes all of Union and Cherokee counties and part of Spartanburg County around Chesnee.

Kulma, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, is an adjunct music professor at Winthrop University. He and his wife, Kirsten, have a dog Pollock, named after abstract expressionist artist Jackson Pollock.

Kulma said he believes both the Democratic and Republican parties are putting the interests of wealthy donors and lobbyists ahead of those of poor and middle-class voters.

He said last year he voted for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, and supports the party’s four pillars — social justice, democracy from the bottom up, protecting the environment and recognizing climate change is real, and peace.

He also supports public Medicare and free college for all, to be paid for by the wealthiest income earners.

He also opposes the use of public funds for private charter schools and supports better housing for the poor.

He said the current political system is corrupted by the influx of money into both major parties, with donors expecting a return on their investments at the expense of those who cannot afford to participate.

While he doesn’t expect to win, Kulma said no one expected Donald Trump to win either when he started his journey to become president.

“In the end, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but the possibility of something happening was enough to get me in the race,” he said.