Posted 19 minutes ago19 Celebs Who Have Run For Political OfficeDonald Trump wasn't the first, and he won't be the last.by Aaron AntBuzzFeed ContributorFacebookPinterestLink Politics has always been a popularity contest, so it's no surprise that celebrities have tried to convert their fame into political power. Some jump in with genuine intentions, hoping to use their influence and resources to help their communities. Others... well, it's hard not to see the ego at play. Paras Griffin / Getty Images, Drew Angerer / Getty Images And this phenomenon isn't unique to the United States. Around the world, beloved entertainers, athletes, and media personalities have stepped out of the spotlight and onto the ballot, aiming to disrupt the status quo or reinvent themselves entirely. Rachpoot / Getty Images Below is a list of 19 celebrities who've run for office. Some won big, others crashed spectacularly, but each one reshaped how we remember them, 1. Let's start with the most obvious one: Donald Trump. The former Apprentice host and real estate tycoon had a few attempts to enter office, but none of them were as historic as his 2015 victory against Hillary Clinton, where he won the electoral college but lost the popular vote. And while he ended up losing to Joe Biden in the 2020 election, he defeated Kamala Harris in 2024, and now, we're stuck with another four years of Trump. Win Mcnamee / Getty Images 2. From Hollywood's de facto action star to political office, Arnold Schwarzenegger leveraged his name recognition in his bid for the Governor of California. With no prior political experience, he became the 38th governor of the state with a stint that ran from November 2003 to January 2011. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images 3. Before Donald Trump and Schwarzenegger, there was Ronald Reagan-a movie star who ascended the ranks of U.S. politics. Funnily enough, he paved the way for both celebrity-turned-politicians and held offices that both Trump and Schwarzenegger occupied. Reagan's political ambitions started taking shape in the mid-1960s, but it was his 1966 run for Governor of California that proved he wasn't just dabbling. Per NYT, he won in a landslide and served two full terms. That success set the stage for his 1980 presidential campaign, where he defeated Jimmy Carter and later won re-election in a massive 49-state sweep. Getty Images / Getty Images 4. Sex And The City star Cynthia Nixon didn't end up in office, but her impact was so strong that they dubbed it the "Cynthia Effect." Nixon ran for the Democratic nomination for the Governor of New York in 2018, where she faced off against Andrew Cuomo. She took on extremely progressive policies, such as higher taxes on the rich, that her supporters claimed forced Cuomo towards appeasing the more deeply left-leaning Democratic voters. Mind you, Cuomo's team has denied it on the campaign trail, though there were certain policy announcements that felt like responses to Nixon's attacks. Spencer Platt / Getty Images 5. Ye, f.k.a. Kanye West, also tried running for president but failed miserably. He first announced his intention to run during the 2015 VMAs but made it official on Independence Day in 2020. He ran outside of the two-party system, launching the Birthday Party with a primarily faith-based platform. Ultimately, he was only qualified on 12 state ballots and only received 60,000 votes out of 160 million. Pool / Getty Images 6. Former NFL star and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker entered politics by running for the U.S. Senate in Georgia in 2022. His athletic background, along with an endorsement from Donald Trump, helped propel his campaign, though he ultimately lost to the Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock. However, he still found himself in a political position a few years later, with Trump nominating Walker as the U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas. Alex Wong / Getty Images 7. Melissa Gilbert became a household name through her role as Laura Ingalls on Little House On The Prairie. But in 2015, she announced that she was running for Congress as a Democrat. Gilbert's campaign focused on helping working families in Michigan. However, she later ended her campaign due to health issues. Monica Schipper / Getty Images 8. Dr. Oz ran for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022 as a Republican. Backed by Donald Trump, he won the GOP primary following a recount. However, he later lost to Democrat John Fetterman in the general election. Ed Jones / Getty Images 9. There's a clear pattern of reality television stars running for office, and it's certainly not limited to the Republican Party. American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken saw some success in 2014 in his bid for Congress when he won the Democratic nomination, though he lost the general election shortly after. In 2022, he ran as a Democrat again in North Carolina's 6th Congressional District, but once again lost. Heidi Gutman / Getty Images 10. Jesse Ventura went from the WWE (then WWF) to making history as the Governor