America will be a city on a hill again if he is elected, said Trey Hollingsworth, Republican candidate for the Indiana 9th District congressional seat.
Joseph A. “Trey” Hollingsworth III is a 33-year-old multimillionaire businessman from Tennessee.
Hollingsworth said he decided to run for Congress out of desperation and dissatisfaction with how the politicians in Washington were running the country.
“I believe this is a great country,” Hollingsworth said. “I want to mobilize the great talent we have here in America.”
Hollingsworth and his wife, a fashion buyer, purchased an apartment in Jeffersonville, Indiana last year four miles from where his she grew up in Louisville, Kentucky.
Hollingsworth officially moving to the district last year is not a concern for him because it is typical behavior of politicians looking to run for office, IU senior Hunt Harvey said.
Hollingsworth’s status as an outsider in politics is not a negative, said Brian Gamache, president of the College Republicans. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are examples of this, he said.
Hollingsworth said he could be working or at home at his wife, but instead he is self-funding his campaign, which proves that he is committed to and believes in his cause.
Rachel Jacobs, Hollingsworth’s campaign manager, said Hollingsworth is the most hardworking and down-to-earth candidate she has met.
The first song they listened to after Trey officially decided to run for office was “My House” by Flo Rida, Jacobs said.
“He’s a real college guy,” Kyle Osting, IU senior and College Republicans secretary, said.
His business acumen and understanding of the issues makes him a qualified candidate, she said. Hollingsworth understands the life of a blue collar worker because he employs them across the state, she said.
Hollingsworth said term limits and electing real people with skills outside of politics into office in Washington will turn the country around and get the economy moving again.
The country needs to stay away from politics and return to public service, Hollingsworth said.
The hopelessness he has noticed among the American people is what keeps him motivated, so he will work to ensure all of his constituents have a voice, he said.
Business over-regulation is driving companies overseas, and the current tax code is keeping small businesses from growing. He wants to change this, Hollingsworth said.
“I want this to be a great country to live in and be born in,” he said.
Hollingsworth said the United States also needs to improve its foreign policy and immigration vetting processes.
Hollingsworth’s wife is currently in New York City on business, and he said she is concerned about another terrorist attack.
“I don’t want people at home worried about their safety,” he said. “I want terrorists abroad worried about their safety.”
Every American pursuing their own happiness and American Dream is what will make the United States a great country again, he said.
“There is no better cause than the United States of America,” Hollingsworth said. “Enough is enough of the status quo.”
