I'm Jonathan Cape Art and this is Cape Up. When New York City Councilman

Ritchie Torres of the South Bronx got into the race for Congress, no one gave him

a shot. The Democratic Congressional

Campaign Committee didn't support him. The local Democratic Party didn't

support him. AOC didn't endorse him. And a notoriously homophobic pro-Trump Democratic member of the City Council

was the candidate favored to win the primary. But he didn't.

Ritchie Torres won. And he'll come to Washington, not just as a free man politically, but also

as the first openly gay Afro-Letino member of Congress. Listen to Torres lean into all aspects of his identity, including growing up impoverished in public housing,

his struggle with mental health, and how this informs his goals for Congress right now.

Congressman-elect, Richie Torres, welcome to the podcast.

It is an honor to be here. So how does it feel your congressman-elect?

It is overwhelming.

You know, I never thought as a poor kid from the Bronx that I would become a United States congressman.

You know, I spent most of my life in poverty. I was raised by a single mother who had to raise three children on minimum wage,

which in the 1990s was $4.25.

You know, I'm a product of public housing,

grew up in conditions of mold and mildew, leaks and lead. And so I never thought I would embark on a journey that would take me from public housing in the Bronx to the House of Representatives in Washington DC D.C.

And the race itself was a roller coaster.

During the campaign, I contracted COVID.

And then after the primary, I had to wait six weeks to find out the results of the election.

So it's been quite an experience.

Life never unfolds as you imagine it.

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