Little House on the Prairie Actress Running for Congress

The actress who played Laura Ingalls Wilder on Little House on the Prairie in the ’70s and ’80s is now running for Congress in Michigan.

Melissa Gilbert announced on Monday that she will run as a Democrat in the state’s eighth congressional district against Republican incumbent Mike Bishop. She wrote on her campaign page, “Here in Michigan, I know people are doing their best to make a good life for themselves and their families. When it comes down to it, I think that’s what we all really want.”

Gilbert, who has also appeared on Dancing With the Stars, has previously served as president of the Screen Actors Guild. The Detroit News reports that she has recently run into tax trouble and owed the IRS $360,000; she explained her debt as “a product of what happened with the economy.”

[The Detroit News]