Actress Melissa Gilbert Announces Congressional Run

“Half Pint” is all grown up and wants to run for U.S. Congress, so she can “be a voice for Michigan’s working families.”

Melissa Gilbert, the actress who portrayed American writer Laura Ingalls Wilder as a child and young adult on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie, is running for Michigan’s 8th District congressional seat.

»RELATED: Check Out Gilbert’s Website for More About Her Campaign

Gilbert, who is a Democrat, threw her hat into the political ring with the creation of a campaign website, as well as Twitter and Facebook pages that were started Aug. 7. She lists Brighton as her home on Twitter, and a Brighton PO box is posted on her campaign site.

“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,” Gilbert wrote on her campaign site. “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.”

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U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) has held the 8th District seat since Jan. 6, and the election is Nov. 8, 2016. Gilbert hasn’t run for political office before, but she was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001 to 2005.

Gilbert is married to actor and East Lansing native Timothy Busfield, of thirtysomething and The West Wing fame. She also is the older sister of Sara Gilbert, who played Darlene on TV’s Roseanne for almost a decade, is currently one of the hosts on The Talk and is married to rock musician Linda Perry.