Getty The U.S. House of Representatives in Washington D.C.
Actor Ben Savage, who rose to fame on the TV series “Boy Meets World,” is considering pursuing a major career shift, from Hollywood to the House of Representatives. Since his last starring roles — in a 2022 Lifetime movie and Hallmark Channel‘s “Love, Lights, Hanukkah!” in 2020 — Savage has turned his focus to politics and filed the necessary paperwork to run for Congress in 2024, according to USA Today.
A rep for the actor confirmed to ABC News that Savage is considering running as a Democrat in California’s 30th District in the House of Representatives. The actor has long been interested in politics, including a failed 2022 run for City Council in West Hollywood, but his rep said the newly-engaged actor is still weighing his options. Savage is also focused on an upcoming wedding and producing a new movie, but has chosen not to reunite with his “Boy Meets Girl” co-stars on their latest project. Here’s what you need to know:
Ben Savage May Run for Seat Held By Representative Adam Schiff
GettyBen Savage at the Boy Meets World 25th Anniversary Reunion panel in 2018
According to a Federal Election Commission filing on January 18, 2023, Savage registered to run for Congress as a Democrat in California’s 30th Congressional District. A statement of his candidacy, filed by political reporting service Crummitt & Associates, confirmed the creation of a “Savage for Congress” campaign committee.
The 30th District seat is currently held by longtime Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, but according to ABC News, he is a likely candidate to succeed Senator Dianne Feinstein in 2024 if she decides not to seek reelection.
Though Feinstein, 89, has not announced her plans, she said last week that “anyone was welcome to throw their hat in the ring,” per KCRA. If Feinstein retires and Schiff runs for her seat, it would open up the seat Savage is interested in pursuing.
A spokesperson for Savage told ABC News in a statement that despite the filing, “he is focused on his upcoming wedding. Ben is still making decisions and always looking for opportunities to give back and serve the community.”
Savage revealed via Instagram on January 11 that he is engaged to Tessa Angermeier. According to People, the couple began dating in 2018.
Ben Savage Has Been Interested in Politics Since College
HallmarkThe cast of Hallmark Channel’s “Love, Lights, Hanukkah!” including Ben Savage
Following his starring role in “Boy Meets World,” which aired from 1993 to 2000, Savage majored in political science at Stanford, according to Newsweek. He then interned in Washington D.C. for late Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter.
But addressing whether he’d go into politics, he told Rolling Stone in 2014, “Acting and politics are almost too similar. I don’t know…You have to be a very specific breed to do that.”
Savage ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the West Hollywood City Council in 2022. According to the Beverly Press Park Labrea News, 12 candidates were vying for three open seats.
He told the outlet he felt West Hollywood was facing “serious challenges around public safety, struggling businesses, inflation and the cost of housing,” adding that he felt the city needed “new, sensible, honest and strong leaders with a fresh perspective to begin tackling these issues.”
During his campaign, he shared multiple Instagram photos of campaign events and businesses that hung his campaign signs, including one post that former Hallmark star Danica McKellar — who starred with his brother Fred Savage in “The Wonder Years” — commented on with three applause emojis.
Savage has also continued his acting career with periodic projects, including the Disney Channel spinoff “Girl Meets World,” which aired from 2014 to 2017.
In 2020, Savage starred with Mia Kirschner and Marilu Henner in Hallmark Channel’s “Love, Lights, Hanukkah!” and in early 2022, he appeared in Lifetime’s “Girl in the Shed: The Kidnapping of Abby Hernandez.” According to Deadline, he also signed on in 2022 to executive produce, alongside NSYNC’s Lance Bass and others, a film based on the novel “The Matzah Ball.”
Meanwhile, some of Savage’s “Boy Meets World” co-stars launched a re-watch podcast with iHeartRadio in June 2022, called launched “Pod Meets World,” but he has no plans to participate.
Danielle Fishel, who starred as Savage’s love interest, Topanga, hosts the podcast along with Will Friedle and Rider Strong, in which they re-watch old episodes of their hit show and discuss them. But, according to Variety, she revealed on the first episode that Savage had chosen not to be involved.
“We talked about it with Ben and Ben was like, ‘I’m not sure it’s really my thing,’” she recalled. “He said, ‘It just really is not my thing,’ and we have respected that. It’s not his thing. That is why Ben is not here.”