10 Wrestlers Who Ran For Public Office
4. Bob Backlund
Bob Backlund was one of the longest-reigning WWE Champions of all time in the late '70s and early '80s, but when he returned to the company in the '90s, he was a changed man. Now an insane heel, Backlund managed to defeat Bret Hart to win the WWE Title once again, but he lost the belt to Diesel three days later. At WrestleMania XI, he lost to Hart in a blowoff match.
After WrestleMania, Backlund announced his candidacy for President of the U.S., which, of course, was all a storyline meant to make Backlund look crazier. In real life, though, Backlund was interested in politics, and in 2000, he ran for a seat in congress.
Backlund managed to capture the Republican nomination for Connecticut's 1st congressional district, running against Democratic incumbent John B. Larson. Backlund was ultimately thrashed just as badly as he was by Hart at WrestleMania, getting 28 percent of the vote to Larson's 72.