PBS News Hour | How reality TV stars seeking office are changing politics | Season 2026

AMNA NAWAZ: The Department of Transportation raised a few eyebrows this week after announcing that Secretary Sean Duffy, his wife, FOX News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, and their children filmed a reality show that’s set to be released online in the lead-up to the nation’s 250th anniversary.

DOT says “The Great American Road Trip” was funded by a nonprofit, not taxpayers.

But ethics watchdogs are concerned that several corporate sponsors who are regulated by the department also contributed funds.

The program will show off some American landmarks filmed over a seven-month period.

It’s also a return to form for the Duffys, who first met filming for MTV in the 1990s.

Now a new batch of reality TV stars are hoping to transition into elected office.

Ali Rogin reports on these candidates and how their campaigns could change American politics.

SPENCER PRATT, Los Angeles, California, Mayoral Candidate: I was just enjoying myself and my wife, and I get crying sisters in front of me?

ALI ROGIN: Screaming matches.

WOMAN: You are a stupid woman.

You know why?

ALI ROGIN: Expensive drama.

LUKE GULBRANSON (D), Minnesota Congressional Candidate: I’m ashamed of myself.

ALI ROGIN: And sometimes a hint of self-reflection.

LUKE GULBRANSON: What’s normal for me is not normal for you.

ALI ROGIN: American reality television has always promised spectacle on demand.

SPENCER PRATT: We’re clear you’re not welcome here, right?

ALI ROGIN: Increasingly, American politics has too.

ROXANE GAY, Author: There’s not a lot of reality to be found yet in reality television.

And, quite frankly, there’s not a lot of reality to be found in politics, and so it’s a very unholy union between two things that need serious overhauls.

ALI ROGIN: Roxane Gay is a writer, cultural critic and a keen observer of reality TV.

ROXANE GAY: I wish more politicians understood the power of performance.

The challenge is that that performance has to be backed up by real practice and substance.

And there’s a little disconnect there for some people.

ALI ROGIN: This year, several reality TV stars are hoping to bridge that divide, betting that fame in front of the camera can translate into votes.

SPENCER PRATT: You’re the biggest poser in this town.

ALI ROGIN: Spencer Pratt, the love-to-hate villain on MTV’s “The Hills…” SPENCER PRATT: They let my home burn down, ALI ROGIN: … launched his conservative challenge to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after the Palisades wildfires destroyed his home last year.

DR.

HEAVENLY KIMES (D), Georgia Congressional Candidate: And your breath stinks too.

ALI ROGIN: Dr.

Heavenly Kimes, the sharp-tongued dentist on Bravo’s “Married to Medicine… DR.

HEAVENLY KIMES: It’s time for a fighter who can deliver results.

ALI ROGIN: … is running for Congress as a Democrat in Georgia.

LUKE GULBRANSON: I wasted your time.

OK, cool.

ALI ROGIN: And Luke Gulbranson is hoping to go from Bravo’s “Summer House” to the U.S.

House.

LUKE GULBRANSON: I’m running to get Congress working for the people again.

ALI ROGIN: Recently announcing his campaign to represent his home district in Minnesota.

LUKE GULBRANSON: I have been on reality TV.

That’s drama for show.

What’s happening in D.C.

is real drama with real consequences.

ALI ROGIN: He’s running as a Democrat in a district that Donald Trump won by 14 points.

The key for his campaign?

LUKE GULBRANSON: I had hockey.

ALI ROGIN: Putting the focus on his roots, not his reality TV past.

LUKE GULBRANSON: I don’t look at myself as a reality TV person.

Obviously, for me, it was a part of my life.

And it was a job, gave me a platform, which I’m thankful for.

But I’m just me.

I’m just a normal kid who loves to swing a hammer and ride his motorcycles and spend time with his dog in the woods.

ALI ROGIN: Celebrity and politics have always overlapped.

Ronald Reagan went from Hollywood leading man to California governor to president.

Arnold Schwarzenegger paused his action movie career for two terms in Sacramento.

SPENCER PRATT: I don’t expect you to forgive me.

ALI ROGIN: But the explosion of reality TV has created a far larger pool of quasi-famous faces with a direct line to their audience and a template for how far that fame can go.

Before Donald Trump descended that golden escalator in 2015, setting a path toward the White House, he spent a decade on NBC’s “The Apprentice”… DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: Welcome to the boardroom.

ALI ROGIN: … building a larger-than-life persona watched weekly by millions of Americans.

DONALD TRUMP: You’re fired.

ALI ROGIN: It was a character, and it worked.

DONALD TRUMP: Everyone, go.

ALI ROGIN: His successful campaign permanently changed the calculus for anyone with a camera and ambitions.

EUNJI KIM, Political Science Professor, Columbia University: That kind of taught many other unconventional candidates that entertainment media is a great political capital to utilize.

ALI ROGIN: Eunji Kim is a political science professor at Columbia University and author of “The American Mirage: How Reality TV Upholds the Myth of Meritocracy.”

EUNJI KIM: He built himself as a character of a successful businessman, of someone who can provide American dream for many Americans.

And I think that kind of translated into his campaign of platforms and agenda later on in politics.

ALI ROGIN: Mr.

Trump isn’t the only one who’s made the transition.

SEAN DUFFY, U.S.

Transportation Secretary: Picked to live in a house.

ALI ROGIN: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy got his start on MTV’s “The Real World.”

JEFF PROBST, Host, “Survivor”: Nick, the tribe has spoken.

ALI ROGIN: Washington Attorney General Nick Brown was one of the earliest castaways on “Survivor.”

ERIKA KIRK, CEO, Turning Point USA: It’s tough to be a believer in the city.

ALI ROGIN: Even Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk appeared on “Summer House” before marrying Charlie Kirk.

WOMAN: Cheers.

WOMAN: Cheers, everyone.

ALI ROGIN: And in Washington, D.C., public service is under the spotlight in new ways.

MAN: TMZ D.C.

coming at you.

ALI ROGIN: The celebrity gossip outlet TMZ opened a Washington bureau… MAN: TMZ is changing the way we do things in Washington.

ALI ROGIN: … and is already giving politicians the paparazzi treatment.

QUESTION: Did you like the tweet that he put out today, like where he was like… SEN.

TED CRUZ (R-TX): As I said, I have given you my answer.

ALI ROGIN: And asking tough questions.

WOMEN: Housewives on the Hill!

ALI ROGIN: Real Housewives are flocking to Capitol Hill too, lobbying on issues like HIV prevention and testifying about small businesses.

ANGIE KATSANEVAS, American TV Personality: You lose sleep, you lose money, you lose hair.

ROXANE GAY: That’s the kind of thing where I do believe they can actually effect some change.

And it does show that they have an awareness of the world around them.

Any time someone wants to advocate for the greater good from whatever position they have, it’s a good thing.

WOMAN: It was a kind gesture.

WOMAN: It was.

ALI ROGIN: But for those who want to make the transition from advocate to candidate, it can be hard to move beyond the television persona.

ROXANE GAY: In general, I think people are voting for the character more than the candidate.

And most people who would vote that way don’t even know what the candidate stands for.

These people are relying primarily on name recognition and personality recognition.

ALI ROGIN: Which means candidates like Luke Gulbranson in Minnesota are focusing on the issues.

He’s emphasizing affordability.

LUKE GULBRANSON: Our health care system, people are paying more on co-pays, premiums, the cost of living.

We’re in a reckless war right now.

So you feel it at the pump every time you have to get gas.

Your everyday essentials are costing you more.

Welcome to Minnesota.

ALI ROGIN: Gulbranson’s reality TV past gave him a visibility boost at the start of his campaign, but there can also be a downside.

LUKE GULBRANSON: What is your issue with me?

ALI ROGIN: Living your life on camera means everything is up for scrutiny.

LUKE GULBRANSON: I think we have to take ownership of who we are and the things we do.

That’s how we grow as people.

Regardless if it’s reality TV or if it’s just you out in your everyday life, you’re not always right.

Your ego doesn’t have to be that big.

ALI ROGIN: And moments like this.

WOMAN: You laughed at my boundary of not, like, texting me after 9:00.

LUKE GULBRANSON: After 9:00.

I’m sorry, I text my friends after 9:00.

ALI ROGIN: … when a female castmate accused Gulbranson of not respecting her boundaries… MAN: Just admit that you love controlling females.

ALI ROGIN: … become politically relevant, as Congress once again grapples with sexual misconduct allegations that so far this year have forced two members to resign.

LUKE GULBRANSON: I (EXPLETIVE DELETED) don’t like you!

ALI ROGIN: We asked about it.

LUKE GULBRANSON: If you believe everything you see on reality TV, I got oceanfront property and in — on the Iron Range I can sell you.

ALI ROGIN: What are you saying?

We all saw with our eyes and ears what you did.

LUKE GULBRANSON: It’s reality TV.

It’s — I think there’s a big difference between that and who you will meet on the campaign trail.

ALI ROGIN: Of course, the campaign trail sometimes ends in disappointment and fame alone is no guarantee of victory.

Caitlyn Jenner’s run for California governor fizzled.

Clay Aiken lost his congressional bid in North Carolina.

And Sarah Palin completed the full loop from governor to vice presidential hopeful to reality star to failed congressional candidate.

ROXANE GAY: Audiences tend to cement their favorite celebrities in their minds based on what they saw when they liked them or hated them the most, and they don’t really create room for those people to grow.

So it’s both a blessing and a curse.

And the successful candidates are going to have to find ways to show that that’s not the whole of who I am.

DR.

HEAVENLY KIMES: I’m calling on Congress to fix this thing.

ALI ROGIN: While the latest hopefuls continue to campaign… SPENCER PRATT: Thank everyone for being here.

ALI ROGIN: … there’s no doubt, win or lose, American politics is already becoming another reality show.

For the “PBS News Hour,” I’m Ali Rogin.