Summer House's Luke Gulbranson Is Done With Reality TV. He Wants Congress
What happens when a former reality TV star decides to go into politics? Ten years ago, that resume would have resulted in almost immediate dismissal. But in post-Trump America, the path to public office isn’t exactly typical anymore. So when Luke Gulbranson, a former cast member of Bravo’s Summer House, announced his intention to run for Congress from Minnesota, his chances weren’t as far-fetched as they once would have been.
When Gulbranson made his announcement, Andy Cohen offered his endorsement in the most Andy Cohen way possible: “I’m just glad to see a Bravo celebrity who’s aspiring to be anything other than a DJ.” It was the kind of send-off that acknowledged both worlds Gulbranson now occupies, reality TV stardom and legitimate political candidate.
While Trump made the unlikely candidate a possibility, their reality TV pasts are really the only thing Gulbranson and Trump share. Unlike Trump, Gulbranson comes from humble beginnings, his family turning to public assistance during hard times. After a hockey injury dashed his hopes of an athletic career, he turned to modeling and acting, which eventually led to Summer House. Midway through the pandemic, Gulbranson moved back to his hometown of Eveleth in Northern Minnesota, built a home, and got reacquainted with the people he grew up around. That period inspired him, a political novice, to run for Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District.
For Gulbranson, the novice label isn’t a liability. “I’m not a poli-sci major, a politician who just wants to put another notch on my belt,” he told Newsweek. “I genuinely want to help people because I know that struggle.” Growing up on public assistance, he says, instilled something in him that no policy briefing could replicate. “When you don’t have much growing up, you don’t need much as an adult either. You just need the basics, your health, the things that really matter.”
His platform centers on jobs, healthcare and housing, all issues he argues are being made worse by the current administration and his incumbent opponent, Rep. Pete Stauber. And he’s not afraid to say so plainly: “Congress doesn’t work for the people. It works for the party, it works for the president, it works with private and special interests. I’m sick of it.”
Whether voters agree remains to be seen. But Gulbranson, who spent years learning how to hold a room on camera, is now betting he can do the same at a doorstep in Duluth.
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Editor’s Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication.
Andy Cohen had a pretty great response when you announced you were running for Congress. He said, “I’m just glad to see a Bravo celebrity who’s aspiring to be anything other than a DJ.” How did that land?
It’s really funny, actually. Andy has always been lovely to me, always really supportive and kind. I will say Kyle [Cooke] and a couple of the other Bravo guys do the DJ thing, and I’m happy for them. But yeah, it was nice to hear Andy say that. It means a lot because I care about him. I think he’s a great guy.
Your announcement came at a moment when Summer House was already in the news cycle for other reasons. While I’m sure you weren’t happy about the situation, the timing at least unfortunately made Summer House a big story.
Not at the expense of people and their heartbreak and their hurt, honestly. I feel for everybody involved in that situation. My main focus is on the people across the Northland here in Minnesota and my run for Congress. If it happened to be at the same time, it did, but my focus is this. I hope everybody there will be okay.
You come into this race with something most first-time candidates don’t have: name recognition and an existing Google footprint. How did you ultimately make the decision to run?
I have friends who have told me for years I should get into politics. They’d say, “Luke, you care a lot about people, you’re smart, you have a platform, you should really get involved.” For the longest time I thought about it, but I also write songs about crooked politicians, so I wasn’t sure. But with the way the current administration is handling things, and the way people across the Northland are fighting every day just to survive, I was like, I’m going to throw my hat in the ring. I took a lot of time to think about it, but at the end of the day, I knew it was the right decision. My platform doesn’t dictate who I am as a person. I’m just a kid from Northern Minnesota who wants to help people and fight for the people across this country who deserve better right now.
Your background is actually the most relatable part of your story. Does the television resume help in ways people might not expect?
I definitely think so. I studied acting for 12 to 13 years before I ever did reality television. My digital team said filming content with me is easy. But this is real life. It’s not a script. People are really suffering, feeling the pain every day at the grocery store, at the gas pump. It’s kind of easy to connect because we’re all in it together.
Most examples of entertainers crossing into politics skew Republican. Ronald Reagan, Sonny Bono, Trump… How do you balance the version of you people have seen on TV with the background the show never really highlighted?
We just got into the race about three weeks ago, and what’s important is having boots on the ground and getting in front of people. Once people meet me, their perception changes. I’ve had people say, “We doubted you, and now that we’ve met you, we’re glad you’re running.” You see what they want you to see on reality television. My last season, I was my grandfather’s power of attorney. We were dealing with his healthcare, assisted living, home care, all of it. I broke down crying in the kitchen because it hurt so much to see him suffering. That’s an everyday struggle for people across this country. But they never aired that. They’d rather have two girls in bed gossiping. I am a kid from Northern Minnesota. I was grateful for my time in reality television, but I’m excited to meet people in person so they can see the type of man I am.
I always said, and I don’t think it ever aired, that I never needed much in life because when you don’t have much growing up, you don’t need much as an adult. You just need the basics, your health, the things that really matter. I was a welfare kid. My dad wasn’t always around when we were younger. But what that did was instill a drive in me to never want to struggle that way, and to not want my family to struggle either. What’s frustrating is they still feel that struggle because of what Pete Stauber and this current administration are doing to their healthcare. I’m not a poli-sci major, a politician who just wants to put another notch on my belt. I genuinely want to help people because I know that struggle. It’s instilled an overachieving drive and work ethic in me. I never stop.
Pete Stauber won that district by 16 points last cycle. What are you hearing from people as you campaign?
People wanted change. That’s why they voted for Pete. That’s why they voted for Donald Trump. And that’s okay. But what I’m hearing is that people are saying life is hard, and this administration is making it harder. They voted for these people because they wanted change, and then the promises turned out to be lies. For instance, Pete voted against the infrastructure bill the Biden administration brought to the table. Thank God it passed. That’s millions of dollars for bridges and road construction here in the Northland, union wages for our workers. And then Pete is at every ribbon cutting for a bridge or a road like he’s the one who did it. But he didn’t. People are smart. They catch it. Pete’s made his bed. That’s a reality.
If you’re elected, what are your top three issues from day one?
Jobs and the economy are first. We have 600 people not working right now in the mining industry. We need our mines up and running. Healthcare is a major concern. We have a high percentage of people on Medicaid and Medicare here, and with the cuts, people can’t afford their care. Our rural hospitals are having a hard time keeping their doors open. When people aren’t insured and we close those doors, they end up in the emergency room when it could have been preventive. That costs everybody more. And immigration. What happened with ICE in Minnesota was terrible. A complete overhaul needs to happen. I was so proud to watch Minnesotans fight back in peaceful ways. Then housing. First-time buyers can’t afford a home, and Airbnb has eaten up the rental supply. We need permitting reform and housing development across the Northland, badly.
Most politicians start at city council and work their way up. How do you respond to the argument that you’re going too big too soon?
I don’t think you need to start at city council. Why would you put a lid on yourself as a human being? I’ve never thought about that, ever. The successes I’ve had are because I’m not afraid to do things. We need more people in Congress who can relate to people, who are just normal people that want change, not poli-sci majors and career politicians. I’m not afraid of it. I’m excited. I’ve been an overachiever my whole life, and that goes right back to having a tough life and having to earn everything, never having anything given to me.
There’s a frustrating tendency from coastal Democrats to look down on the Midwest, including blaming how people in “flyover country” vote. What do you say to that?
It comes down to communication, conversation, education. Nobody’s necessarily wrong in how they might think. The only time someone’s wrong is when they tell you that you’re wrong. Look at the mining industry: if it wasn’t for the iron ore in Northern Minnesota and the steel we made, we’re the backbone of what built the infrastructure in this country. People could call it a flyover state, but it’s extremely essential to everyday life. I’m a firm believer in people having conversations with people from different parts of this country. Social media can actually be good for that, and so can podcasts.
The Democratic Party has a complicated relationship with industries like mining. A lot of people where we come from, the Midwest, blame the party for job losses over the past 40 years. How do you address that?
My grandfather was an operating engineer in Northern Minnesota when Reagan was in office, and he said there was never any road construction because Reagan cut the funding. He was a die-hard Democrat. So look, DFL [Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party], it’s farmer-labor. That’s who we are. What’s happened is a lot of manipulative rhetoric has been put out into the world and people drink the Kool-Aid. I am a firm believer that we can sit down at a table with mining companies and environmentalists and have educated conversations. We can put people on the moon. Why can’t we find ways to do this safely? Stop playing politics, stop pointing fingers. I’m a Democrat. I love the environment. I love the woods. And I love mines and what they mean for union jobs here. Why can’t we do both? Congress doesn’t work for the people. It works for the party, it works for the president, it works with private and special interests. I’m sick of it. I’m a normal person just like everybody else and I’m sick and tired of how people struggle because things don’t get done.
What’s surprised you most as you’ve introduced yourself to voters?
I thought reality TV threw a lot at you, but politics has been pretty brutal, especially within your own party, which I think is absolutely ridiculous. What surprised me is when people pass judgment without knowing you. People believe things they read on a Facebook post and it’s like, that’s not even true. But when I meet them in person, they’re like, “Wow, you’re so different from what I expected.” My team and I are going to work extremely hard to pound the pavement, get in front of people, shake hands and let them make their own judgment after meeting me in person. That has genuinely surprised me. The Minnesota nice thing is real, but not in politics.
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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 10:16 AM.