Descriptively, office holders tend to represent a select few, often failing to mirror the diversity of the population they serve. While extensive research has examined who occupies these positions, the question of why political newcomers seek office remains largely unexplored. This paper leverages a candidate selection reform in Argentina to delve into the real-world motivations of first-time candidates, studying who they are and why they want to compete. Using text-as-data methods to code the self-declared motivations of 13,592 registered citizens, we test a framework combining strategic (policy and office-seeking) with expressive (partisan, community, or personalistic) motivations. We find women are less likely to cite partisan motivations; those with lower education emphasize policy-driven aspirations; and employed individuals highlight personalistic motivations. Strategic motivations, central in political career literature, are less common than expressive ones, challenging conventional assumptions about what drives individuals to enter politics. These findings offer new insights into the interplay between motivation, participation and representation.
