Soap opera actor, former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant and Donald Trump celebrity endorser Antonio Sabato Jr. is reportedly throwing his hat in the ring for a congressional seat.
Mr. Sabato intends to run in California’s 26th congressional district in the 2018 midterms, the Daily Beast reported Monday, citing documents available online at the Federal Election Commission’s website.
His campaign website, VoteAntonio.com, is registered to GOP political consultant and ex-Trump delegate Charles Moran, the Daily Beast reported.
As of Tuesday morning, the GoDaddy-hosted site has not yet been populated with any campaign content.
The 26th Congressional District is currently represented by three-term Democrat Julia Brownley, who coasted to re-election in 2016 with 60 percent of the vote, a marked improvement over her 2014 re-election percentage, 51.3 percent. Election news site Ballotpedia notes that political observers consider Ms. Brownley a safe bet for reelection.
Under California’s voting scheme, it’s possible that Ms. Brownley could square off in next November’s general election against another Democrat. Under California law, every candidate for a congressional or U.S. Senate seat competes in an open primary with the two top vote-getters, regardless of party, advancing to the general election.
Mr. Sabato’s decision to run for Congress comes days roughly a week after fellow celebrity Trump supporter Joe Piscopo announced he would not pursue the governor’s mansion in his native state of New Jersey. Mr. Piscopo had mulled running as an independent, but has since endorsed Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who is seeking to replace her unpopular, term-limited boss this November.
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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