Melissa Gilbert running for Congress in Michigan, where life is ‘real’

Melissa Gilbert is seeking a little seat on the Hill: The actress is running for Congress.

“Excited to announce my run for U.S. Congress in Michigan’s 8th. Please join me in my fight for working families,” the “Little House on the Prairie” star declared Monday on Twitter, including a link to her campaign website.

Gilbert is running as a Democrat against incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Bishop, who was elected in November 2014; Republican Rep. Mike Rogers held the seat from 2000 to 2014. Gilbert’s actor-director husband Timothy Busfield is a Michigan native.

Gilbert put her Tarzana home on the market in 2011 after divorcing longtime husband Bruce Boxleitner, and married Busfield in 2013.

“Everything is easier, it’s just more peaceful, it’s just more comfortable,” she said on “Oprah: Where Are They Now” about life in Michigan as she allowed viewers a peek inside their home. “It’s just -- real.”

“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 said on Facebook. “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.”

The 51-year-old L.A. native has some political experience, a la Ronald Reagan: She was a two-term president of SAG/AFTRA, holding that office from 2001 into 2005.

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