Basketball Star Royce White To Run For House Seat As Republican Against Rep. Ilhan Omar

Iowa State basketball star Royce White has announced his bid for Congress.

He will be running as a Republican candidate challenging Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) for her seat representing Minnesota’s fifth congressional district.

“Ten years ago, I took on the NBA and the establishment,” White said in his campaign video. “I said that mental health was one of the greatest issues we face. And I was willing to give up my dream to fight for people I have never met. I took the lead when others wouldn’t.”

The Minnesota native referred back to his outspoken advocacy of mental health during his time playing basketball. He had posted one of the best seasons in Iowa State history but struggled with anxiety disorder after being drafted 16th overall by the Houston Rockets. He played just one season and three games for the Sacramento Kings.

White says the Biden administration is selling out the American people and criticized the handling of the pandemic.

“This district has been voting blue for a long time and I hope that I can shake that up,” White said in an interview on former President Donald Trump adviser, Steve Bannon‘s podcast. “I hope that I can make people see that for a long time they voted against their own interests.”

Watch White’s campaign video below.