"The Youtube star, Trisha Paytas announced she wants to run for congress in 2026, What does this mean?" --Paloma Bastos, 7th grade
Recently, the popular YouTube star Trisha Paytas said in a video that she saw a “vision” of herself running for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in California this year. In that same video, uploaded January 5th, titled “2026 manifestations,” she also announced her campaign slogan: “California could be good.” This has caused many people to question, what does this mean, and is she serious?
Paytas posted a TikTok shortly after the commotion started following her announcement, saying she is “currently googling” how to run for Congress, which shows her determination to learn about this role. Paytas also mentioned that, after becoming a mother in 2022, she has become more concerned about the world. She credits motherhood as sparking a sudden urge to take on this role.
In Payta's video, she said, “I never thought of myself as a political person until I started having kids and realizing, like, the world could be just so disastrous [and] dystopian for real by the time they get to be adults.”
If Paytas is serious about running, she will have many steps to complete, which she might not be prepared to do yet. She will need to complete the nomination documentation, as well as a declaration of candidacy, collect signatures of constituents, and either pay a filing fee of $1,740 or collect 1,740 signatures in place of the fee by March 6th. In the same TikTok video, Paytas said that her “main goal” if she were to win office would be to increase the age requirements for participating in the adult entertainment industry from 18 to 25.
You might be wondering who is in the office currently and whether they will run again. Given that Paytas lives in Westlake Village, she would likely be competing against Julia Brownley, who has been the district's Congresswoman since 2013. However, according to Politico, “Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) will not seek reelection after representing a Ventura County-area district for seven terms, she announced Thursday,” Which benefits Paytas, given that she won’t have to worry about long-time congresswoman Brownley running. Brownley, however, has said “she was ‘confident’ that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries would lead the House effectively as speaker should Democrats take back the chamber,” according to Politico. This shows that Brownley is hoping for Jeffries to take her place
Although Paytas doesn’t seem to have the most experience, she seems confident. And her fanbase across social media has been very supportive.
Parker Brewer, a 6th-grade Literary Arts student, says, “I think she will [do well as a congresswoman], given her humour, she is very kind, and I also think that she would listen to the people.” Sayuri Espinoza, a 7th-grade Literary arts student who is a fan of Paytas, says, “She will do great because she can actually be serious and make good decisions if she puts herself to it.”
Paytas is a celebrity, and many celebrities have run for public office in the past. Some examples are Caitlyn Jenner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Kanye West. But are celebrities running for office a good idea?
Wesleigh Stone, another Literary Arts student, in 7th grade, says, “I think it [celebrities running for office] would help with getting votes.” But Espinoza says otherwise, “mmm no, only Trisha is acceptable.”
According to Virginia Tech's article about celebrities running for office, John Tedesco, a professor of communication for the Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts, says, “Celebrities aren’t equipped to serve in politically representative roles because they generally have no experience being a public servant.” Tedesco expressed that he is not fond of the idea of celebrities running for office, which is very different from what Stone might think.
Paytas has had a very controversial history with politics on social media, especially in her previous YouTube videos. One example was recently, when she said, “We are for Israel, not Palestine,” her husband, Moses, corrected her fairly quickly, saying, “No, who’s saying that?” to avoid the wrong message being sent. In 2016, she said, “We have so many illegal immigrants in this country right now, I live in California; there are so many, taking our jobs, not paying taxes…” Paytas has also famously said she isn’t racist because she eats rice and mocked Asians repeatedly in the same video. Paytas has also made disparaging comments about the LGBTQ+ community, but has apologized multiple times in interviews and has expressed that she does not like Trump despite her past of talking well about him.
Paytas has not said anything on the topic since her recent TikTok video, but many are still hoping for the star to show up on their ballots this November. We’ll just have to wait and see if “California could be good.”
