Twelve years at the bedside. Ten of those at Dell Seton, the only Level I trauma center in Central Texas. Co-chair of the bargaining committee that won 18% pay raises and mandatory nurse-patient ratios in 2024.
ABOUT THE CANDIDATE
I AM NOT A POLITICIAN. I AM A NEIGHBOR WHO GOT TIRED.
THE ORIGIN STORY 2020. ICU.
2020. ICU.
84 BODIES IN SIX WEEKS.
Carlos went back to bedside nursing in March 2020 because Dell Seton was short-staffed and the trauma center was the only Level I in Central Texas. He watched 84 people die in his first six weeks. Half of them did not need to.
He watched a 41-year-old single mother of three from his old high school die because she put off care for ten days. She was uninsured. She thought she could not afford the ER.
Two years later, his own landlord raised his rent 41% in one cycle. He went to a tenants'-rights meeting to figure out what his options were. Three years after that, he was running the meeting. Three years after THAT, he is running for Congress.
He is not running because he wants to be a Congressman. He is running because nobody who already is one has shown up for the people in his hallway.
Nobody who is already in Congress has shown up for the people in my hallway.
CARLOS HIDALGO-RIVERA · ANNOUNCEMENT, JUNE 14 2025
CAREER. NOT RÉSUMÉ.
WHAT HE HAS ACTUALLY DONE.
12 YRS
ICU NURSE
6 YRS
TENANTS RIGHTS
4 YRS
PUBLIC TEACHER
5 YRS
CLIMATE ORGANIZER
Three years door-knocking District 4 and 78704. Stopped 14 illegal evictions in 2024 alone. Built the spreadsheet that became the legal record for the Cesar Chavez tenant suit.
Four years teaching anatomy and physiology to first-generation seniors. 92% of his students passed AP Biology. Walked out with Education Austin in the 2019 strike.
Co-organized the 2019 climate strike that pulled 3,200 Austin students from school. Built the Sunrise Austin hub from 8 members to 240.
TIMELINE
HOW WE GOT HERE.
- 1994
Born in Hialeah, FL. Mother is a Cuban-born seamstress, father is a Mexican-American electrician.
- 2012
First in his family to go to college. UT Austin, full-ride from Terry Foundation. Pre-nursing.
- 2016
Graduates BSN. Starts at St. David's as a med-surg nurse.
- 2017
Moves to teaching at Akins HS. Joins Education Austin.
- 2019
Co-organizes the 2019 Austin climate strike. 3,200 students walk out.
- 2020
COVID. Goes back to bedside nursing. Watches 84 people die in his first six weeks at Dell Seton.
- 2022
Founds East Austin Tenants Council Block 4 chapter after his own apartment's rent jumps 41%.
- 2024
Co-chairs the Dell Seton bargaining unit. Wins 18% raises and ratios.
- 2025
Files paperwork with the FEC. Announces in front of the closed Brackenridge Hospital site.
- 2026
Running for U.S. House, TX-37. Primary March 3. No corporate PAC dollars.
LIVES
78704. The same one-bedroom apartment for nine years. Walks to the H-E-B on South Lamar.
FAMILY
Mother Yolanda still lives in Hialeah. Partner Mara is a public defender for Travis County.
READS
Audre Lorde, Mike Davis, the Texas Observer, Adam Tooze's substack, plus whatever the union has put on the table.
WEEKENDS
Saturday is door-knocking. Sunday is shifts at the food pantry at Iglesia de la Comunidad.
PERSONAL OFF
OFF
THE
CLOCK.
The candidate page says the same things every candidate page says. So here are the four real ones.
JOIN THE RACE
THE RACE IS 112 DAYS AWAY.
If you've read this far, you're already in the room. Stay.