Openly atheist, legally blind and highly progressive candidate James Woods is running for Congress in Arizona, hoping to replace Republican Matt Salmon, who was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012. Salmon not only opposes federal funding of gay marriages, gay adoptions and abortions, but he also voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.

Woods is running for the Congress in Arizona’s Congressional District 5 and he believes a healthy democracy is representative of all voices.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about people who don’t believe in God… Because of the negative stigma, lawmakers aren’t seeking out atheist constituents and asking how we want to be represented. They’re afraid of the political fallout. But how can you make sure government is serving all Americans if you don’t allow marginalized groups of people to talk about what they need?” stated Woods.

Woods identifies as a humanist and is actively involved with the Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix, Freedom from Religion Foundation and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. His campaign kick-started on April 27 with Woods’ website going live on Sunday night. Even though Woods will face an uphill battle in the red district, his candidacy alone is something that deserves applause.

Atheists across the country are rooting for Woods with hopes that once non-religious people emerge as a voting bloc, seasoned politicians in America will take atheists more seriously.

You can help kick off his campaign by donating to his efforts.

Photo Credits: Daniel Fincke