This is what happens when a newly-elected congressman stops being polite and starts getting political.
Meet Sean Duffy, who was just elected to Congress from Wisconsin’s 7th district. If you were a relatively early adopter in reality TV, you may have met him before. Prior to his time in politics, Duffy was a cast member on The Real World: Boston.
During the show, which aired in 1997, Duffy was pegged as the token conservative, often sparring with liberal housemates and discussing race relations. But there were no hot-tub sessions to apologize for during the campaign; Popeater notes that the most scandalous thing he did on the show was call a housemate a “bitch.” (These were pre-Jersey Shore days.) In 2002, he competed on MTV’s Real World-Road Rules Challenge, where he met his wife, Rachel Campos, who was a housemate on The Real World: San Francisco.
(More on TIME.com: See 25 crazy moments from the midterm elections.)
Duffy says people in his district rarely mention his time on television. “People aren’t concerned about a reality show from 15 years ago,” he told The Daily Caller in May. And after all, MTV gets in the way of touting his experience as a lumberjack athlete.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SadnrJbDdbE]
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Duffy wasn’t the only reality star running for Congress. Surya Yalamanchili, who was featured on The Apprentice, ran and lost as a Democrat in Ohio, and Kevin Powell, who was on the original Real World, was defeated in the New York primaries. Duffy’s victory leads us to wonder what reality star will show up on Capitol Hill next. Senator Omarosa? Congressman Situation? (Popeater, via EW)