The Bravo reality TV star has launched a campaign to unseat Republican Rep. Pete Stauber.

Summer House alum Luke Gulbranson is running for Congress to tackle the ‘real drama’ in D.C.

The Bravo reality TV star has launched a campaign to unseat Republican Rep. Pete Stauber.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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April 15, 2026 2:07 p.m. ET

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Luke Gulbranson in 2025. Credit:

Dia Dipasupil/WireImage

- Luke Gulbranson, who starred on Bravo's *Summer House*, is running for congress in Minnesota.

- He is looking to unseat Republican Rep. Pete Stauber, the incumbent for the state's 8th Congressional District.

- "Yeah, I've been on reality TV, but that's drama for show," Gulbranson said. "What's happening in D.C. is real drama."

Why stop at *Summer House** *when you can join the United States House of Representatives?

Luke Gulbranson, who starred on Bravo's *Summer House* from season 4 through season 6, has announced a last-minute congressional campaign in his home state of Minnesota. Gulbranson, 42, is looking to challenge Rep. Pete Stauber, the Republican incumbent for the state's 8th Congressional District.

In an announcement video released Wednesday, Gulbranson cites chaos from the Trump White House as well as rising costs for prompting his campaign.

"Costs are up—we feel it at the pump and the checkout line. Health care is under attack, forcing families to choose between paying bills and affording prescriptions," begins the caption for the Instagram version of the video. "Unions are being targeted, like in St. Louis County where this administration is threatening to cut funding if we ensure fair wages for union workers. And in northern Minnesota, two mines are down, leaving 600 people out of work, all while the President uses foreign steel for his own projects."

Luke Gulbranson in 2026.

Roy Rochlin/Getty

The caption continues, "It’s time for Congress to work for the people again—not special interests, not party politics, and not the President. Join me in my run for Congress today."

In the video itself, Gulbranson highlights his working-class Minnesota origins, telling viewers that he understands the struggles of everyday Americans.

"I didn’t grow up with much," he begins. "I know what it’s like to get the power turned off a few times. To need food assistance, or go hungry. To need Medicaid, or you couldn’t see a doctor."

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The former reality star, who has dabbled in acting with roles on *The Flight Attendant* and *Love… Reconsidered*, acknowledged that people may be confused given his background as a TV personality.

"Life has a funny way of closing one door and opening another," he says in the video. "Yeah, I've been on reality TV, but that’s drama for show. What’s happening in D.C. is real drama with real consequences and the stakes couldn’t be higher."

Gulbranson goes on to state that he will firmly stand against the "dangerous rhetoric" from the Trump administration, as well as "ICE agents wreaking havoc in our communities, Congress voting to take away people's healthcare, spending $200 billion on a war when we need to be spending money at home."

Jules Daoud, Paige DeSorbo, Carl Radke, Lindsay Hubbard, Luke Gulbranson, Hannah Berner, Amanda Batula, Kyle Cooke on 'Summer House' season 4.

Karolina Wojtasik/Bravo

Gulbranson's entry into the race comes just weeks before the district will hold its Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement convention, though he maintains that no matter the outcome, he is committed to seeing his campaign through.

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Gulbranson originally pursued modeling and acting before signing on for three seasons of *Summer House* beginning in 2020. He later appeared on the spinoff series *Winter House* and the luxury real estate reality show *Selling the OC*.

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