Trisha Paytas announces plan to run for seat in US House of Representatives: ‘I am being so serious’
Trisha Paytas is planning to run for a seat in the US House of Representatives in California. (Getty)
Trisha Paytas is planning to run for a seat in the US House of Representatives in California. (Getty)
YouTuber and podcast host Trisha Paytas has announced her intention to run for a seat in the US House of Representatives in her home state, California.
In a YouTube video and separate episode of her podcast Just Trish, posted on 6 January, the 37-year-old social media influencer and upcoming Euphoria actress discussed her plans for 2026, including, she said, running for a seat in California’s US House of Representatives elections in November.
“I would maybe like to run for Congress. I think I can do at least [the] House of Representatives thing. I want that one,” she told journalist Oscar Gracey on Just Trish.
“I am being so serious about it. I have to look into it,” she said, adding that she believes it’s a “doable” goal as “there’s stupider people in Congress” than her.
“This is my goal, and I think it’s my only goal I need to achieve this year. I’m so serious,” she reiterated. “I need to start campaigning. I think I can do it, because I can fund it myself. You just have to do a little campaign.
“That’s my goal, that’s my thing. I think I’m gonna try. OK, I’ll get on this,” she added.
Trisha Paytas, who gave birth to her third child Aquaman Moses in July 2025, went on to share that there were “multiple reasons” behind her decision to get into politics, and that there are “so many things” she wants to do if she were to secure a seat.
“I really want to do a law that makes it illegal to do adult work if you’re not 25,” she said. “I was thinking about that with the OF [OnlyFans] of it all. There’s [an] influencer who just turned 18 and she made, what? Three million dollars in the first day?”
Internet star Piper Rockelle, who turned 18 in August, recently claimed that she made $2.9million after setting up an OnlyFans account after her 18th birthday.
“My first initial thought is like, so disgusting,” said Paytas. “Not on her, but all these people who are like, knowing she’s just – the term I hate – freshly 18. It’s so, so gross on those people. Also at 18 people make decisions that they wouldn’t make at 25 or 30. There’s a lot of adult stars I follow now that wish they could scrub everything,” she added, including herself in the latter statement, as she has been open about taking part in sex work in her early career.
In a TikTok video,also posted on 6 January, Paytas added that she first became interested in politics after having her first child, Malibu Barbie, in 2022.
“I never thought of myself as a political person until I started having kids and realising, like, the world could be just so disastrous [and] dystopian for real by the time they get to be adults,” she shared. “I was like, ‘Alright Trish, enough just, like, shutting it out, being ignorant.”
In her YouTube video, entitled “2026 MANIFESTATIONS” she added that she wanted to be more philanthropic this year, and had “some bills” to present to Congress.
“I really want to be able to truly make a difference because I see so much horrible stuff happening in the world and right here in California as well. I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s nothing I can do.’ No, there’s something I can do. I can run. I can run for office. I wholeheartedly really want to give my all for that,” she told her followers.
If Paytas is serious about running for a seat in the House of Representatives, she’s got to be swift about getting her campaign together. While the election to select the 52 California representatives doesn’t take place until 3 November 2026, she has until 6 March to officially declare her candidacy, present the relevant paperwork, and pay the required fee, $1,740 (or collect 1,740 signatures as an alternative to the fee).
If she were to be elected, Paytas would become the first publicly non-binary member of the California House of Representatives.
In the past, Trisha Paytas has been fairly ambiguous with her political leanings. She previously jokingly expressed support for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney ahead of the 2012 election, suggesting she supported him because he is “hot”.
In 2016, she expressed support for Donald Trump, but rescinded her comments in a 2019 video, which has since been deleted, entitled “I do NOT support Donald Trump”.
In the video, she claimed she had “never voted” and knew “literally nothing” about politics.
In 2020, Paytas declared that she had voted for Joe Biden, because she mistakenly believed he had quoted Hamilton, when he had in fact just recited the Declaration of Independence.
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