Former WWE Signee Dan Rodimer Running For Office In Texas, Mocked Over Campaign Video

Former WWE developmental talent Dan Rodimer is running for office and is making waves for a campaign video that is causing him some criticism. Rodimer, who was a contestant on the 2004 season of Tough Enough, is running for the open congressional seat in Texas that was left vacant when Congressman Ron Wight passed away due to COVID-19. A special election is being held to fill the seat and over 23 candidates are running for the seat.

In the video, Rodimer portrays himself as a Texan complete with a bullriding sketch (conducted by a body double) and a Texas accent. Rodimer is from New Jersey and previously ran for office in the 2020 election eason for a seat in Nevada, which he lost. He previously worked as a home builder in Houston. You can see the video below.

The video has gone viral on social media due to the nature of the ad, with people accusing him of “cosplaying” as a Texan and pointing out how he ran in Nevada. Rodimer has been criticized by people on both sides of the aisle, and Rodimer acknowledged in an interview with CNN that a body double was used, saying, “”I actually stayed on for 11 seconds and the only reason I was able to get off — well, unfortunately my hand was stuck, so I couldn’t get off sooner — we didn’t get the full filming of it, and, yeah, we had other people jump in to be body doubles.”

He also addressed his accent and not being an actual native, saying, “You know, we have an old saying here in Texas — ‘I may not have been born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could.’ And that’s why we came back. In regards to my voice, well, as you can hear right now, it’s gone. It’s been gone for the past three weeks. And between the two videos that they put back-to-back, you know if you look at them, they were selectively edited. If you watch the whole thing, you’re going to hear my voice it’s just like it is right now.”