Listen: ‘Kid Candidate’ Follows Amarillo’s Hayden Pedigo On An Unlikely Political Campaign

Jasmine Stodel first learned about Hayden Pedigo the way many others did – through a viral video he starred in about a fake campaign for a place on the Amarillo City Council. Pedigo decided to ride his wave of notoriety following the release of the video to actually pursue a seat in office. Stodel followed him in a new documentary making its world premiere at SXSW Film.

“[The title] ‘Kid Candidate’ came about because, I mean, it’s not only about Hayden’s age – he’s 24. I mean, that makes him a man. But he was a kid in the political arena. And it is a little bit of a David and Goliath story about youth against age.”

“Even though this movie takes place in Amarillo, Amarillo represents every town in America and every city in America. We all are dealing with the same issues. We’re all dealing with, you know, where our money is being spent in our local government and who’s benefiting from that. And I think this maybe shines a spotlight on a few things that are universal.”

“I want people to know that this is not just a political movie; this movie is actually a lot of fun. Hayden is an amazing character. He’s very fun to watch. He’s very lovable. And there’s a lot of hope in this movie, too. And I hope that it also inspires people, especially young people, to see that they can make a difference on a local level.”

Director Jasmine Stodel. Credit: Liam Brown

“I’m so proud at SXSW because it’s a Texas film about Amarillo, Texas, and my crew was mostly Texans. So it was close to everyone’s heart.”

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