AUSTIN (KXAN) — Reality TV to politics isn’t an uncommon route these days, and one former star announced Wednesday that she’s ready to run in Texas.
Farrah Abraham, who appeared on “Teen Mom” and “16 & Pregnant” in 2009, submitted her candidate paperwork to run in the Austin Mayoral Race on Wednesday. However, she learned during a Thursday interview with TMZ that that race isn’t until 2028.
In an interview with NewsNation affiliate KXAN Thursday afternoon, Abraham said her team refiled the paperwork earlier in the day to enter her in the race for District 5’s city council seat instead.
“I reached out to the city and I just was like, ‘Hey, I’m very serious about this … I love this city and I want to get involved in and help where I live and breathe, and I know I can help because I’m making it, others seem to be struggling, and I want to jump in the mix,'” she said. “If I could be a district seat and I could be mayor at the same time, I probably would do it.”
Abraham, who originally grew up in Council Bluffs, Nebraska, moved to Austin in 2013. Her website currently promotes her as a life coach, a standup comedian and an OnlyFans model.
She said she’s ready to “work on any and every issue in city council,” with housing affordability as a main issue motivating her run. In particular, she focused in on the struggles faced by self-employed workers.
“I’m literally going to be working with like brokers associations, realtors associations, and I’m going to hopefully be going in and fixing this, because we have like, 2008 tax laws for closing on homes that just really isn’t working for the Austin market, which is full of 1099s creatives and … self-employed people,” she said.
City council can’t change state tax laws, nor can it affect federal income taxes, another issue that Abraham said she hopes to tackle. That aside, she said she wants to find a way to help people keep living in Austin.
“They don’t have to feel like they’re moving farther and farther out of Austin. Like all of my friends just keep moving out,” she said. “My rent for what I was renting downtown just doubled … maybe tripled.”
When asked for her thoughts about the current District 5 council member’s performance, Abraham said she didn’t know who that was. She confirmed to KXAN that she currently lives in the district.
“I don’t even know who’s in District 5, maybe their names just like aren’t big names or something. They just don’t come up where I work,” she said. “People definitely are not enthused with people who are in charge of the city or districts or mayor.”
Council Member Ryan Alter, a Harvard Law School graduate, was elected in 2023 to represent the district. KXAN reached out to him for comment.
“I just can’t wait to see what’s really going on … We’re going to have a really good life. We’re going to have a better life in Austin,” Abraham said.
The filing deadline for city council candidates is August 18.