Matt Roloff for president? OK, maybe just State Senator.
The Little People, Big World patriarch revealed during Tuesday’s all-new episode of the TLC show that he was considering running for a seat in the Oregon State Senate.
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“Some friends in the legislature here think I’d be good candidate to run for State Senator,” he told the cameras.
The show then flashed to footage of Oregon State Senator Bruce Starr telling Roloff, “By you running and winning this seat, Matt, it brings balance to the state legislature that is seriously needed.”
He was definitely picturing himself at the Statehouse. “I mean, Matt Roloff, State Senator, that has a pretty good ring to it. It’s a big honor,” he said. “I’ve dabbled in politics here and there, and I’m passionate about some of the issues, but it’s also a huge sacrifice. It’s a commitment that you can’t take lightly.”
When ex-wife Amy Roloff heard about Matt’s political ideations, she had some warnings for her former husband. “You’ve always tooled around with politics, but with politics, you’re past comes up.”
“Can’t you just say, ‘Good idea’?” Matt replied.
“Well, just be prepared that your past will come up,” Amy reiterated.
It’s not totally clear what the Little People, Big World matriarch was referring to when she was talking about Matt’s “past,” but she could be referencing his past issues with substance abuse.
In his 1999 memoir, Against Tall Odd: Being a David in a Goliath World, Matt opened up about his prior cocaine addiction.
“I never thought I’d be someone who used drugs, but it happened,” Matt wrote. “I thought I could just try it and get out of it, but I was wrong. It caught me like a bear trap. I almost didn’t escape.”
He ended up kicking the drugs, but that wasn’t the end of Matt’s brushes with the law.
In 2003, Roloff was arrested for driving under the influence after his car swerved into a ditch. Despite an official convicted charge of drunk driving, his charges were dismissed the next year upon completion of an alcohol diversion program.
In 2007, he was pulled over once again after police spotted him allegedly driving erratically after leaving a bar. He pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence, which was eventually dismissed due to a combination of jury misconduct and failure to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the reality star had been driving under the influence that night.
Later in Tuesday’s episode, Matt’s girlfriend Caryn Chandler also seemed unsure about the time commitment the two-year stint in the legislature would require, in addition to campaigning.
“I’m going to support you whatever you really, really want to do, but as long as you understand that the more you put on your plate, it takes a toll on all things,” she told him.
In the end, Matt decided that running for office would likely take him down a path that wouldn’t give as much time to Chandler and their blossoming relationship, and wouldn’t allow him to spend time in Arizona as a snowbird.
“I feel very committed to Caryn and I don’t want to lose her,” he said, later adding, “I need to pass on it.”
Little People, Big World airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.
Photo credit: TLC
