EVELETH, MINNESOTA — Luke Gulbranson announced his candidacy for Congress as a Democrat in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, challenging Republican incumbent Rep. Peter Stauber. This marks Gulbranson’s first campaign for elected office.
Gulbranson, who appeared in three seasons of Bravo’s reality television series 'Summer House' and two seasons of its spin-off 'Winter House,' told NPR about the moment he decided to run: “In that moment I was like, 'Wait, I'm going to do this. I'm going to actually throw my hat in the ring and do this.'” After his time on television, he returned to his hometown of Eveleth, Minn., where he manages his own maple syrup business and coaches hockey.
Gulbranson describes himself as a “welfare kid” who grew up on powdered milk and food stamps. His mother has leukemia and his father is disabled with diabetes, experiences he says shaped his understanding of the challenges many residents in the district face.
He acknowledged the overlap between his media background and political campaigning, noting, “I definitely think it helps me in having thick skin because I've noticed that politics is actually worse than reality television.” He added, “In reality television, it affects me. It affects the way I'm perceived on how I'm edited and produced and stuff. But with Congress, it affects the lives of other people. You can watch a TV show and you might care about it, but it's not affecting your health care, right? It's not affecting the cost of goods or every time you're putting gas in the car.”