Celebrities Who Have Run for Office, Including 10 Who Were Actually Elected
Celebrities Who Have Run for Office, Including 10 Who Were Actually Elected
Diana Pearl, Janine Henni, Stephanie SengweWed, May 27, 2026 at 10:15 PM UTC
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Long before Donald Trump made his transition from reality TV host to becoming the president of the United States, several other Hollywood big-timers made their attempts at occupying public offices at varying levels of government. And in the years since, more reality stars have thrown their hat in the ring in an attempt to go from Bravo to CSPAN.
Ronald Reagan, of course, was an actor before he became the 40th president, while Arnold Schwarzenegger famously ran for California governor twice after having been a box office magnet for decades, and came out victorious both times. Other stars such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson have explored the idea of seeking election but never followed through, while others such as Clay Aiken, Cynthia Nixon and most recently, Spencer Pratt, have launched full campaigns with hopes of becoming elected officials.
Below, see some of the celebrities who have talked about running for office and the ones who actually ended up winning!
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Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP/Shutterstock
A New York City figure, actor in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and host of The Apprentice, Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States in 2016 after rising to the top of a crowded field of Republican candidates to run against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. His controversial first term ended with him becoming the only president in history to be impeached twice; he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden, though never officially conceded the race.
Trump ran again in 2024 and won, beating Democratic candidate and former Vice President Kamala Harris. He became the second president in history to be elected to two non-consecutive terms.
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Sean Duffy
Credit: Ryan Collerd/Bloomberg via Getty
Who knew Duffy's Road Rules: All-Stars experience would come in handy as Transportation Secretary in Trump's second term? The former Fox Business host filmed a reality show with his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy (whom me met on Road Rules) and their nine children, road tripping across America over a period of seven months to see the country (with stops at the Liberty Bell, the Boston firehouse where he lived while filming The Real World and Kid Rock's house).
Prior to serving on Trump's cabinet, Duffy served as a Republican Congressman from Wisconsin from 2011 through 2019, before resigning to spend time with his family after his youngest child was born with complications.
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Luke Gulbranson
Credit: John Nacion/WireImage
Summer House star Luke Gulbranson has his eye on the U.S. House of Representatives, after announcing in April 2026 that he was launching a last-minute bid to unseat the incumbent in Minnesota's 8th district, Republican Pete Stauber.
"Yeah, I've been on reality TV, but that's drama for show," Gulbranson said in his first campaign ad, in which he introduced himself as a "hockey coach, businessman and actor". "What's happening in D.C. is real drama, with real consequences, and the stakes couldn't be higher."
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Spencer Pratt
Spencer Pratt
Credit: Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty
On Jan. 2026, former star of The HillsSpencer Pratt revealed that he would be running for L.A. mayor, a year after he and his wife, fellow reality star Heidi Montag, lost their home in the L.A. fires.
"The system in Los Angeles isn’t struggling, it’s fundamentally broken. It is a machine designed to protect the people at the top and the friends they exchange favors with while the rest of us drown in toxic smoke and ash," Pratt stated at “They Let Us Burn!” protest.
He continued, "Business as usual is a death sentence for Los Angeles, and I'm done waiting for someone to take real action. That's why I am running for mayor."
By April, campaign records reviewed by PEOPLE showed that the former reality TV star had raised more campaign funding than incumbent Karen Bass. She was at $494,734.76 perThe Los Angeles Times, while he had garnered $539,616.85.
Pratt, who is running as an independent, has rejected the “MAGA Republican” label given to him by city council member Nithya Raman, who is also running. He has instead compared himself to former Democratic President Barack Obama.
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Dr. Heavenly Kimes
Dr. Heavenly Kimes
Credit: Julia Beverly/Getty
Married to Medicine star Dr. Heavenly Kimes announced her bid for Georgia State Representative in District 93 in July 2025.
"I'm not a career politician. I’m a mom, a doctor, a business owner — and I’m not afraid to stand up for what I believe in," she told PEOPLE at the time. "I’m running to serve, and I’m ready to work."
However, in March 2026, the cosmetic dentist, entrepreneur and community advocate revealed she would run in the Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives instead, bidding to represent Georgia's 13th Congressional District.
On May 20, following months of campaigning, the reality TV star conceded the race to Rep. Jasmine Clark after she won the primary with more than half the vote.
"This is not over — we're going to come back," Kimes said in a video shared to Instagram. "I've already called Jasmine Clark and congratulated the queen. I'm sure she'll do an amazing job. I'm so proud of her, but I'm also proud of you. We did something different; we made history."
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Jerry Springer
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Springer started his career as a political reporter. But before he made the transition to TV in 1991, the year his eponymous show premiered, he had a short-lived political career of his own: In 1970, he had an unsuccessful run for Congress, and then had a better turn during his run for Mayor of Cincinnati, a position he served from 1977 to 1978.
Springer died in April 2023 due to pancreatic cancer. He was 70.
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Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
A 2021 poll found that 46 percent of Americans would support a presidential run from "The Rock" — and the actor shared his reaction to the news on Instagram in April 2021.
"Humbling 🙏🏾🤯" he captioned the post. "I don't think our Founding Fathers EVER envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick up truck driving, fanny pack wearing guy joining their club - but if it ever happens it'd be my honor to serve you, the people 🙏🏾💪🏾🇺🇸"
Johnson previously discussed the prospect of running for president on numerous occasions.
"I would consider a presidential run in the future if that's what the people wanted. Truly I mean that, and I'm not flippant in any way with my answer," he said. "That would be up to the people. ... So I would wait, and I would listen. I would have my finger on the pulse, my ear to the ground."
The wrestler-turned-blockbuster actor also talked about running for office back in 2017, telling PEOPLE he'd consider a run for the top job in the future.
The "Run the Rock 2020" campaign committee was actually filed with the Federal Election Commission, making Johnson an eligible candidate in the 2020 race. He never followed through — even though he was at one point polling higher than President Donald Trump.
Speaking to Trevor Noah on his What Now? podcast in 2023, Johnson revealed that several parties had approached him about running in late 2022. "I got a visit from the parties. They asked me if I was going to run and if I could run — and it was a big deal. And it came out of the blue, and it was one after the other," the actor revealed.
"It was all very surreal because that's never been my goal. My goal has never been to be in politics," he later added. "And in fact, there's a lot about politics that I hate.”
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Ben Savage
Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty
Boy meets office!
In August 2022, Savage announced that he was running for a seat on the city council of West Hollywood, California, his longtime place of residence.
"There are serious challenges ahead and West Hollywood deserves sensible, honest and strong leadership to face them," Savage wrote on his campaign website. "We need new leaders with a fresh perspective who are ready to begin tackling these issues."
According to LA Weekly,he was forecasted to come in ninth place with 6 percent of the vote.
He decided to try his hand again in 2023, this time for Congress: paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission on Jan. 18 showed the creation of a committee for Savage's campaign. Savage's run as a Democrat was for California's 30th District seat. He ultimately lost to Rep. Laura Friedman.
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Anson Williams
Credit: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty
The former star of the sitcomHappy Days announced in 2022 that he'd run for mayor in Ojai, California.
During the city council meeting that was open to the public that June 28, Williams noted that Ojai needs "leadership that inspires a collaborative team."
According to the Los Angeles Times, Williams would compete against Ojai Mayor Betsy Stix.
He lost by just 42 votes that December, the New York Postreported.
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Clay Aiken
Credit: Phillip Faraone/FilmMagic
He was the runner-up on the second season of American Idol, and Aiken's 2014 Congressional hopes ended with a similar outcome. Running as a Democrat in a conservative-leaning North Carolina district, he lost against the incumbent, Rep. Renee Ellmers. (If he had won, he would have made history as the first openly gay congressperson from the South.)
In 2022, he decided to give it another go, announcing his campaign for North Carolina's 6th Congressional District on Jan. 10.
"These days my life looks a lot more like yours than Justin Bieber's, that I can promise you," he said. "But one thing that has never changed for me is how much I love my home state."
"We have gotta get better at speaking up and using our voices 'cause those folks ain't quieting down anytime soon," he continued of "divisive" politicians. "That's why I'm running for Congress, here in this community that raised me and where I first discovered my voice."
He lost to Valerie Foushee, earning 7 percent of the vote.
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Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
All right, all right, all right! The Oscar winner and proud Texan teased that he was mulling a run for governor of the Lone Star State, as a Democrat.
"I'm looking into now again, 'What is my leadership role?' " the star said on The Balanced Voice podcast in March of 2021, per The Hill. "Because I do think I have some things to teach and share. What is my role, what is my category in my next chapter of life that I'm going into now?"
At the state level, the chair of the Texas Democratic Party said they'd welcome it if McConaughey threw his (cowboy) hat in the ring.
"He's young, good-looking, smart and has a little wildness — but this is Texas," Gilberto Hinojosa told Politico. "We like that stuff."
On Nov. 28, 2022, he took his name out of consideration.
"At this point in my life with the things — I've got a 13-year-old, an 11-year-old, an 8-year-old. The life I'm living right now, the storytelling I want to keep doing, it's not the category for me at this point in my life," he told Jimmy Fallon a few weeks later.
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Jim Bob Duggar
Jim Bob Duggar
Credit: Jim Bob Duggar for Arkansas/Facebook
The Duggar family patriarch lost a primary race in his campaign for Arkansas state senate in December 2021, days after his eldest son Josh was found guilty by the jury in his child sexual abuse material case.
"I want to thank those of you who voted for me, volunteered, contributed, and supported me in my race," Duggar wrote in a Facebook post congratulating the two Republican candidates who were headed to a run-off. Poll results showed that Duggar won roughly 15 percent of the vote.
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Advertisement
Dr. Mehmet Oz
Dr. Oz
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The TV personality officially announced that he was running for Senate as a Republican on Nov. 30, 2021, penning an op-ed for The Washington Examiner in which he wrote that he is launching his campaign "to help fix the problems and to help us heal."
Writing that the coronavirus pandemic had ultimately led him to enter the Pennsylvania Senate race, Oz said many of the more-than 750,000 American COVID-19 deaths were "preventable."
After a contentious race and a close election, he eventually lost to Democrat John Fetterman. He now serves in the Trump administration as the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
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Caitlyn Jenner
Credit: Caitlyn Jenner/instagram
The reality star and Olympian launched a bid to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom on the Republican ticket in late April 2021, after the GOP gathered enough signatures for a recall vote.
Billing herself as a "compassionate disruptor," Jenner cited her love for California and commitment to protecting the best interests of its people upon filing the initial paperwork.
"I'm running because I know the only thing Gavin Newsom will disrupt is our economy and the livelihoods of innocent Californians," Jenner said in a statement. "There is no other candidate in this race with the experience, leadership, and ability to take on the status quo in order to bring us out of the long, dark shadow of Gavin Newsom's California."
Jenner earned just 1 percent of the vote in California's special September 2021 election.
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Steve Lodge
Vicki Gunvalson and Steve Lodge
Credit: Astrid Stawiarz/Bravo
Lodge, the former fiancé of former Real Housewives of Orange County star Vicki Gunvalson, announced on Instagram in 2021 that he was running for Governor of California. In his June 29 post, he shared that he was born and raised in California and raised his children there but he can "no longer stand by and watch my beautiful state being destroyed by bad decisions made by Sacramento career politicians."
"Its time for the people of California to regain control of their government, not only at the state level, but in the counties, cities, and school boards," he continued.
He concluded with, "Help me 'Make California, California Again.' "
Lodge earned less than 1 percent of the vote in the special September 2021 election.
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Dan Rodimer
Dan Rodimer
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The former professional wrestler entered the political arena in March 2021, marking his third bid for public office — but it didn't go as he hoped.
Rodimer ran for a vacant seat in Texas' 6th Congressional District, joining a pool of 23 candidates vying for Texas' open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat was made vacant following the death of Rep. Ron Wright, who passed away while hospitalized with COVID-19.
In the May 1 special election, the WWE alum came in 11th with 3 percent of the vote, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Rodimer previously ran for Congress in Nevada, losing the race in November 2020. In 2018, he fell short in state Senate election there.
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Barbara Kavovit
Barbara Kavovit
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Kavovit, who appeared on The Real Housewives of New York City in 2019, announced on social media on Jan. 27, 2021, that she was running to become the city's mayor — joining a field that was already shaping up to be full of far more connected and well-known names.
But that didn't stop Kavovit, CEO of Evergreen Construction, an N.Y.C.-based company she founded when she was 21.
The businesswoman-turned-reality star was born in The Bronx and her company is named for the street where her late father grew up. Kavovit wrote on Instagram that she decided to run for mayor because she believes the city "is in a state of crisis."
"I may not be a politician, but I'm a Bronx-born New Yorker who isn't fearful of the hard work and tough decisions that lay ahead," she wrote.
She ultimately dropped out of the race, but told Page Six she planned to run again. In 2022, she announced to the outlet that she would be running again though an official campaign never materialized.
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Cynthia Nixon
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The lifelong New Yorker and Sex and the City star announced her candidacy for Governor of New York on March 19, 2018. "New York is my home. I've never lived anywhere else," she said in a video released to launch her campaign. "I was given chances I just don't see for most of New York's kids today. Our leaders are letting us down." Nixon was eventually defeated by incumbent Andrew Cuomo.
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Glenn Jacobs
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WWE fans know him as Kane, but Glenn Jacobs got a brand new title in 2018. The former wrestler was elected mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, on Aug. 2, 2018, Sports Illustrated reported. Jacobs defeated Democratic nominee Linda Haney with a 2-1 lead. Jacobs first announced he was running for office the year prior and won the Republican primary election against Brad Anders by 23 votes that May.
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Ben Higgins
Credit: Mike Pont/WireImage
The Bachelor alumnus toyed with the idea of running for a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives in 2016, just after his season of the show aired. All signs pointed to go, with Higgins filing the paperwork to run, but he ultimately decided drop out of the race.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, I will not be able to move forward as a candidate," he said in a statement. "I find solace in knowing that our intentions and actions have been fair and sincere. I entered into this endeavor wanting to bring positive change to my community, and it is with that same spirit that I will move forward, albeit on a different path."
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Shaquille O'Neal
In 2017, the former NBA player announced that he planned to run for Sheriff in 2020, although later he bumped his plans to 2024. (He didn't specify which state he'd be running in.)
"This is not about politics," he told WXIA in Atlanta. "This is about bringing people closer together. You know, when I was coming up, people loved and respected the police, the deputies. And, I want to be the one to bring that back, especially in the community I serve."
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Shaq has served as a reserve officer in the Doral Police Department in Florida, as well as in Miami Beach, Tempe, Arizona, and the Port of Los Angeles. In December 2016, he became a sworn deputy in Clayton County, and in 2021, became director of community relations for the Henry County Sheriff's Office in Georgia.
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Antonio Sabato Jr.
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In 2018, the Italian soap star challenged incumbent Democrat Julia Brownley to represent California's 26th district in Congress. Sabato Jr., a Republican, spoke fondly of then-President Donald Trump in the past, saying, "It is refreshing to have a candidate like Trump who is so honest about his feelings because he speaks for many of us when he says we are in a bad place." That thinking didn't do him any favors in ultra-blue Los Angeles, and he lost his race.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
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He's called the Governator for a reason! Schwarzenegger moved away from his action star roots to pursue a political career in 2003, when he announced his candidacy for governor of California — despite having no prior political experience. He ended up winning in a special recall election of former Governor Gray Davis, and then won outright again in 2006. He left office in January 2011, after completing his second term, the most allowed by law.
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Clint Eastwood
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Eastwood is a different kind of triple threat: acting, directing and politics. In 1986, he ran for mayor of his California hometown, Carmel. He won by a landslide, capturing 72.5 percent of the vote. His term was just two years, and he didn't seek reelection — seemingly because the reason he originally ran was due to the fact that his plans to construct a building next to his restaurant were rejected by the town's council.
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Al Franken
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Former Saturday Night Live writer and performer Franken served as a U.S. Senator from Minnesota beginning in 2009. His first election was a close one, which ended in multiple recounts and an election contest that went all the way to the Minnesota Supreme Court. In 2014, he was reelected with 53.9 percent of the vote. However, multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct in 2017, and in early 2018, he left office.
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Howard Stern
Credit: Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
In 1994, when New York Governor Mario Cuomo was up for reelection, running against eventual Governor George Pataki, Stern decided to enter the race as a Libertarian. He ran on the promise of reinstating the death penalty, upping highway tolls to reduce traffic and forcing construction workers to work at all hours of the night. He said that after these goals were achieved, he'd get out of office. His dreams never came to fruition: Stern ended up dropping out of the race after he refused to release a personal finance disclosure.
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Sonny Bono
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After writing some of the biggest hits of the '70s, Sonny Bono turned his attention to writing legislation as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Bono initially decided to run for mayor of Palm Springs after facing red tape while trying to open a restaurant and won, serving from 1988 to 1992; he then launched an initially unsuccessful bid for Senate in 1992 before running for Congress in 1994 to replace a retiring Al McCandless. He won the Republican nomination and the general election, as well as reelection in 1996, and served until his death in a skiing accident in 1998.
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Jesse Ventura
Credit: Alex Wong/Newsmakers
He rose to fame as a professional wrestler — with the nickname "The Body" — but Ventura may be best known now for making the move from the wrestling ring to the political arena. He first served as the mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, and went on to become the governor of Minnesota in 1999, the first to hold the office as a member of the Reform Party.
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Wyclef Jean
Credit: John Lamparski/WireImage
Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Haitian native Jean decided he wanted to run for president of the country. Though he filed the paperwork for his candidacy, his bid was quickly thwarted: He didn't meet Haiti's five-year residency requirement for the job.
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Shirley Temple
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She may be the original child star, but the late Temple abandoned her early career for a life of public service. She retired from show business in 1950, at just 22 years old, and after becoming an active member of the California Republican party, she ran for Congress in the Republican primary for the state's 11th district, ultimately losing and not making it to the general election. That was hardly the end of her political life, however: Though she never ran for office again, she went onto serve as the United States Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia.
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Ronald Reagan
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Before there was Donald Trump, there was Ronald Reagan. An actor and one-time president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan left his acting career behind to run for governor of California, winning the job in 1967, which he held until 1975. He then, of course, went on to become the 40th president of the United States.
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Farrah Abraham
Farrah Abraham
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Reality TV star Farrah Abraham announced that she was running for mayor of Austin during an interview with TMZ on Jan. 16, 2026.
"I'm super excited to be a candidate for mayor of Austin," she said. "I'm running super early, so I can't wait to see whose going to be run with me and challenge me."
After being probed about why she was running so early, given that the next election wouldn't be until 2028, Abraham responded, "I just know what my city has told me."
"I loved that I jumped the gun," she added. "I think there's also a lot going on locally, so if someone also misinterpreted that and told me different, that's okay too."
In separate interview with local outlet KXAN, Abraham then announced that her team had refiled the paperwork to enter her in the race for Austin's city council, vying for the seat for District 5, instead.
"I reached out to the city and I just was like, 'Hey, I'm very serious about this … I love this city and I want to get involved in and help where I live and breathe, and I know I can help because I’m making it, others seem to be struggling, and I want to jump in the mix,'" she stated. "If I could be a district seat and I could be mayor at the same time, I probably would do it."
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