Pod Save the People last year, Jones reflected on the historical significance of his candidacy, telling Mckesson, “When I was growing up poor, black and gay, it would have made my life so much easier to be able to look to an openly gay Black member of Congress…because that would have been direct evidence for me that things really do get better.“So while I’m not running to be the first openly gay Black member of Congress, I am definitely acutely aware of the fact that I’m already making a difference in the lives of young people who are paying attention to this campaign, and folks you might not even imagine, who are older than I am, saying, ‘You know what?