16 TV Stars Who Turned to Politics — Is Spencer Pratt L.A.’s Next Mayor?
Spencer Pratt is hoping to go from The Hills to Los Angeles City Hall. After complaining about California Gov. Gavin Newsom and current L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ response to the 2024 wildfires in the area, the former MTV star has launched a bid to lead the city.
We all know certain TV stars who turned to politics. Current U.S. President Donald Trump, of course, was the face of the 2000s-era reality show The Apprentice, and former President Ronald Reagan hosted General Electric Theater and Death Valley Days before his political career.
But here are 16 other TV stars, Pratt included, who have or had political ambitions — most of which went unfulfilled!
Clay Aiken
The second-place finisher of American Idol’s second season also came in second in the 2014 race to represent North Carolina’s 2nd congressional district, running as a Democrat but losing to Republican incumbent Renee Ellmers. His 2022 for Congress was unsuccessful as well.
Roseanne Barr
The outspoken namesake of Roseanne — and, later, the fired star of The Conners — ran for U.S. president in 2012, as a candidate first with Green Party candidate and then with the Peace and Freedom Party. She didn’t win, of course, but she did get more than 67,000 votes.
Sonny Bono
After starring with then-wife Cher in TV’s The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, Bono served as mayor of Palm Springs, California, from 1988 to 1992 and as a Republican U.S. representative for California’s 44th district from 1995 until his 1998 death.
Stephen Colbert
As the outgoing Late Show host recently reminded his audience, he ran for “president of the United States of South Carolina” in 2007 and again in 2012. Though his campaigns weren’t serious, Politico reported he did get 5 percent of the vote in a 2012 Public Policy Polling survey, not far behind actual Republican politicians Ron Paul (8 percent) and Rick Perry (7 percent) and ahead of Jon Huntsman (4 percent).
Jim Bob Duggar
Before the Duggar family started starring in 19 Kids and Counting — and racking up controversies— the family patriarch served as a Republican member of the Arkansas State House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003. He tried running for Arkansas State Senate in 2021 but came in a distant third place in the Republican primary shortly after son Josh was found guilty of possessing child sex abuse images.
Al Franken
Franken, an off-and-on Saturday Night Live writer and performer from the 1970s to the 1990s, became a Democratic U.S. senator from Minnesota in 2009 — defeating Republican incumbent Norm Coleman by 312 votes — and he held that post until 2018, when he resigned amid sexual-misconduct allegations.
Melissa Gilbert
Gilbert nearly went from Little House on the Prairie to the big House on Capitol Hill. In 2015, she launched a bid to represent Michigan’s 8th congressional district. But she dropped out before the primary — in which she was the presumptive nominee — citing health concerns.
Hill Harper
Harper, known for his starring roles in CSI: NY and The Good Doctor, ran to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate in 2024 but lost the Democratic primary to Elissa Slotkin. The TV star also made headlines during his run when Politico reported that he’d been offered — and declined — $20 million from a Michigan businessman to run instead against U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
Caitlyn Jenner
The Olympian-turned-reality TV star ran as one of Newsom’s Republican challengers during California’s 2021 gubernatorial recall election. But her “Caitlyn for California” campaign didn’t get her far: Among the alternative candidates, Jenner received just 1 percent of the vote.
Cynthia Nixon
Nixon has played well-to-do New Yorkers in Sex and the City, And Just Like That…, and The Gilded Age, and she got close to becoming New York’s governor, too. As a Working Families Party candidate, she challenged Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo in 2018 but lost to him in the primary election.
Dr. Mehmet Oz
The former host of The Dr. Oz Show ran for U.S. Senate as a Republican from Pennsylvania in 2022 but lost to Democrat John Fetterman. Trump appointed Oz administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in November 2024, and he was confirmed for the role the following April.
Spencer Pratt
Pratt is shrugging off his Republican registration in what he calls his “non-partisan” bid for Los Angeles mayor. “I registered Republican in 2020 and never changed it. And I wasn’t going to change it now just to check a different box,” he wrote on X. “This is a non-partisan race — there will be no D or R next to my name. As mayor, I will not serve either party. I will work with anyone who wants to help the city.”
Steven Michael Quezada
After starring on Breaking Bad, Quezada served two terms as a member of the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners in New Mexico between 2017 and 2025. “And I kind of warned [previously-elected public officials] that if it got to a point where I felt that they weren’t funding the programs that were important to the kids and my community, that I would run.” the actor explained to County News in 2023.
Antonio Sabàto Jr.
Sabàto went from General Hospital to a general election in 2018, running as a Republican candidate for California’s 26th district seat in Congress. But he was defeated by Democratic incumbent Julia Brownley, losing the election 59 percent to 41 percent.
Ben Savage
The former Boy Meets World lead shot his shot to become as a Democrat for California’s 30th congressional district in 2024, but lost to current Rep. Laura Friedman in the primary, getting just 4.0 percent of votes.
George Takei
The man behind Star Trek’s Mr. Sulu ran for Los Angeles City Council in 1973, spurring the city’s KNBC station to not air Star Trek: The Animated Series, to which Takei lent his voice, for fear of violating equal-time regulations. Takei also announced a run for California State Assembly in 1989 but later withdrew his bid to focus on acting and writing.
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Don't forget Jesse Ventura. He was elected governor of Minnesota in 1999 and served a four-year term.
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