Offer Vince Shlomi, best known as the ShamWow infomercial pitchman, has filed to run for Congress as a Republican in Texas’ 31st District. Inspired, he says, by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Shlomi is campaigning on a promise to fight what he calls woke ideology and to push for more transparent social media algorithms under the slogan “Soak the Swamp.”
Offer Vince Shlomi, the 61-year-old entrepreneur widely recognized for his ShamWow infomercials in the early 2000s, has filed to seek the Republican nomination for Texas’ 31st Congressional District, according to a report by The Daily Wire. The outlet notes that Texas Republican Party filing records list his name as Offer Vince “ShamWow” Shlomi.
The 31st District includes parts of the northern Austin suburbs, Temple, and Fort Hood. Shlomi is running in the Republican primary against longtime incumbent Rep. John Carter and several other GOP candidates. The seat is scheduled to be on the ballot in the November 2026 general election.
Shlomi told The Daily Wire that his decision to run was driven in part by the death of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. He said he was inspired to enter politics after Kirk was killed.
“I feel called to stand on my beliefs and make real change in this world in his honor,” Shlomi said. “Charlie Kirk stood for what he believed in and entered himself into the fight, but more powerfully, he encouraged others to do the same.”
Shlomi praised Kirk’s opposition to what he calls “wokeism,” arguing that it has a damaging effect on young people.
“I see kids who are happy, and as they get older, they’re unhappy because they’re being subjected to wokeism,” he said.
A central focus of his platform, according to The Daily Wire interview, is social media policy. Shlomi argues that large technology platforms should be more transparent about how they operate.
“Google, YouTube, and all social media companies need their codes to be open source,” he said. “The algorithms need to be fair and transparent, not biased. Google and YouTube suppress conservative views on [their] platforms and discriminate [against] anything that ridicules their woke ideology.”
Shlomi leans heavily on his background in sales and television marketing as preparation for elected office.
“I mean, I took a rag and made millions,” he said, referencing the absorbent cloth that made ShamWow a household name. He described his experience as a “rags to riches” story and argued that it shows he knows how to persuade the public.
“I am a great salesman, they say I’m the GOAT at pitching. I should be a Congressman, pitching bills that improve the Texas 31st constituents’ lives,” he told The Daily Wire. “I’m not a polished politician, but I wasn’t polished when I was the pitchman either — and that’s why you loved me.”
Shlomi’s past legal troubles have also resurfaced as he re-enters the spotlight. In 2009, he was arrested in Miami after an altercation with a woman at a hotel. According to an NBC News report cited by The Daily Wire, police said the woman bit Shlomi’s tongue and refused to let go, and he struck her with his fists in response. Prosecutors ultimately declined to file charges.
“I was defending myself, and the public needs to know that,” Shlomi said of the incident. “It turned into a comedic story and sparked tons of rumors. I own up to the fact that I shouldn’t have put myself there.”
Shlomi’s campaign slogan, “Soak the Swamp,” plays on his ShamWow persona and echoes former President Donald Trump’s “drain the swamp” rhetoric. With roughly a year until primary voters in Texas’ 31st District go to the polls and the general election set for November 2026, Shlomi is positioning himself as an anti-woke outsider seeking to convert late-night infomercial fame into political clout.
