Melissa Gilbert, ‘Little House On The Prairie’ Star, Launches Bid For Congress

Melissa Gilbert, best known for playing Laura Ingalls Wilder on Little House on the Prairie, has decided to make a career switch into politics and is running for a congressional seat in Michigan.

Melissa Gilbert Running For Congress

Gilbert, a Democrat, announced her congressional bid on Twitter Monday. The actress will be running for Michigan’s 8th congressional district, which is currently being served by freshman Republican Rep. Mike Bishop.

“Excited to announce my run for U.S. Congress in Michigan’s 8th. Please join me in my fight for working families,” Gilbert tweeted along with a link to her campaign page.

“Here in Michigan, I know people are doing their best to make a good life for themselves and their families,” Gilbert wrote on her site. “When it comes down to it, I think that’s what we all really want.”

“I’m running for Congress to make life a little easier for all the families who feel they have fallen through the cracks in today’s economy,” she continued. “I believe building a new economy is a team effort, and we need to bring fresh voices to the table to get the job done.”

While Bishop himself has yet to comment on his challenger for Michigan’s 8th district, his campaign spokesman Stu Sandler has weighed in with criticism of Gilbert. Citing Gilbert’s debt to the Internal Revenue Service, Sandler claims she’s out of touch with the people she hopes to represent.

“Melissa Gilbert can afford to have a stylist and a Louis Vuitton collar for her dog, but cannot pay her taxes,” Sandler said in a statement to CNN. “Her Hollywood values are out of whack with the district.”