If you're running for office, it's pretty much guaranteed that a lot of people in your life encouraged you to do so. But few candidates can say that they've been personally encouraged to run by President Barack Obama and FBI Director James Comey. No matter how unlikely, that is the true story of what pushed Omar Siddiqui to jump into the race to unseat Russia's favorite congressman, Dana Rohrabacher. (In November, The New York Times reported that "the Kremlin likes him so much it gave him a code name.") Rohrabacher, who has been in Congress since 1989 and represented four districts during his tenure, is facing fourteen challengers in the open primary for California's 48th. Despite never having been represented by a Democrat before, CA-48 went to Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016 (but only by a 1.7 point margin). Despite the crowded field, Omar Siddiqui believes that he can pull through and make it to the November general election ballot. Omar joined us on the podcast to discuss his strategy, why diversity is a matter of national security, and the discussions with Barack Obama and James Comey that inspired him to run for Congress.