Revealing too much about yourself can be fatal for a politician, but one candidate for Congress is putting it all on the line in the name of honesty, integrity and awareness.

In an interview with Watermark Online Bob Poe, a Democrat running for the House of Representatives in Florida's 10th District, disclosed that he has been HIV-positive for 18 years.

“We’ve got to rip the mask off this thing and begin talking about it in a sensible way,” he told the publication. “[HIV] is a chronic condition that is more easily treated than diabetes."

If elected, Poe would be the first openly HIV-positive member of Congress. He's only the second to ever run—after AIDS activist Sean Strub in 1990—and would be the first with a real shot at winning.

"There hasn’t been a real trailblazer in this area at a political level,” he says. “...I feel a responsibility—an obligation now—to share my experience.”

Poe promises to be a staunch advocate for the more than 1.2 million Americans with HIV, but he's hardly a one-issue candidate: He's also concerned with raising the minimum wage, improving education and economic empowerment, education and job training.

At 61, he's a successful businessman who is able to run his campaign without being beholden to special interest groups. (He was part of the management team that helped bring the Magic to Orlando.)

But politics has been in his blood since childhood—he first ran (unsuccessfully) for state senate in 1980. During the Bush-Gore election of 2000, he was chair of the Florida Democratic Party and, in 2012, he served as regional finance chair for President Obama’s re-election campaign.

Two years later, he oversaw Charlie Crist’s unsuccessful bid for governor as a Democrat.

But stepping into the spotlight also meant risking exposure—something he dreaded.

"I would go so far as to tear the labels off of my medicine bottles, shred those labels, and then drive to an entirely different location to deposit the empty bottles in a dumpster,” he recalls. “I was terrified that someone would find out.”

Poe says his moment of truth came just a few weeks ago when he was campaigning in Orlando's predominantly black Parramore neighborhood and a woman came up to him with a problem.

Leaning in, she shared that she had recently tested positive for HIV, didn’t have health insurance, and didn’t know where to go or what to do. Poe offered resources and encouragement, but when she walked away he cringed at his cowardice. By the time he drove home, he knew what he had to do.

“I just wanted to hug her and tell her that she wasn’t alone, that I’m HIV and that I’m happy and healthy and she will be too. But I couldn’t,” Poe recalls, shaking his head. “I couldn’t in that moment."

Previously, only a few close friends and Poe's ex-wife knew of his status. But after that encounter, he decided he needed to be open with the public.

"There’s no one else in elective office, that I know of at least, with the same opportunity to talk about [HIV] from a personal perspective," he says.

And HIV is not a niche issue in Florida, where the number of new cases roses 23% between 2014 and 2015. Three-quarters of those cases were among gay men.

Poe believes too many people are gripped with the kind of shame he felt—keeping them from getting tested and treated.

"Our goal should be to eliminate AIDS as an epidemic by the year 2025,” he says. “We are close to finding a vaccine or cure, but that’s going to require additional investment. It won’t happen if everybody is in the shadows.”

Below, Bob Poe shares his message in an emotional video.