Out congressional candidate and conversion therapy survivor Mathew Shurka says that a nationwide ban on the practice will be among his priorities if he’s elected.

Shurka is running for the Democratic nomination to fill retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler’s seat representing New York’s 12th Congressional District. He’ll face a crowded field in the party’s June 23 primary, which includes Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and former Republican-turned-Trump critic George Conway. One recent poll showed Schlossberg leading the pack, though 33% of those surveyed said they remained undecided.

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But Shurka recently told Advocate that he still feels “great” about his chances, citing Democratic voters’ dissatisfaction with the party establishment and his experience working to pass legislation in cities and states across the country to ban conversion therapy.

“There is a real sense of people wanting an outsider,” he said. “I’m not the only outsider, but I’m the outsider that has had the most legislative experience. To be able to be an outsider who’s passed over 150 pieces of legislation all across the country and did it without ever being a politician really speaks to people, and people are moved by that.”

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Shurka believes that if he’s elected, he will likely be the first survivor of the widely discredited anti-LGBTQ+ practice to serve in Congress. His experience with conversion therapy – which has been denounced by all credible professional associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, and described by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture as amounting to a form of torture – from the ages of 16–21 spurred his activism.

In 2014, Shurka co-founded the Born Perfect campaign, which aims to end conversion therapy in the U.S. Through the campaign, which he remained part of until ast year, he traveled the country helping pass laws and policies to protect LGBTQ+ youth from conversion therapy.

Shurka, who launched his campaign in September, noted that he’s the only candidate vying for Nadler’s seat who urged Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents earlier this year.

“So many people are worried that the Democrats are scared,” he said. “They’re not willing to really put their neck out in a way that would really, really stop Trump.”

The 37-year-old gay activist has pledged to continue to stand up to the Trump administration if elected and to continue his work ensuring that no LGBTQ+ young person ever has to endure conversion therapy again.

He told Advocate that he intends to advocate for a conversion therapy ban if elected.

“I did introduce legislation with [out Democratic Rep.] Ted Lieu on that, and it never passed. It gets reintroduced every year,” he said, noting that the Equality Act – federal legislation banning discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity that was reintroduced last April – is important to him as well.

Shurka is also concerned about the Supreme Court’s recent decision last year to hear Chiles v. Salazar, a case that could overturn bans on conversion therapy for minors currently in place in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

“It’s going to be a horrible moment,” Shurka said of the possibility that the Court’s conservative majority might once again legalize conversion therapy across the country.

One thing is certain: in New York’s heavily Democratic 12th District, which represents gay enclaves like Manhattan’s Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen neighborhoods, whoever wins the Democratic primary is essentially guaranteed to win in November. While he may face an uphill battle in June, Shurka is willing to fight.

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