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A “Survivor” winner has decided to turn his attention to politics — “David vs. Goliath” winner Nick Wilson is running for office. Here’s what you need to know about his background and what office he is seeking.
Nick Is A Republican Running For a Kentucky State House Seat
After Kentucky state representative Regina Huff announced she will not pursue re-election in the 82nd State House District in 2022, Nick told local news station WYMT that he is going to run for the seat because he “feels led to public service.”
Nick said in a statement:
I am running for State Representative of the 82nd District because I feel led to public service and I love Whitley County. Since I became an attorney, I have served the community as a Public Defender in McCreary County and Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for Whitley and McCreary Counties. Being away from our area during college, law school and Survivor cemented in me how lucky and proud I am to be from our community. I hope to continue to serve Whitley and Southern Laurel Counties by representing our interests in Frankfort as State Representative. I am extremely grateful to Rep. Regina Petrey Huff for her service to our district, and I am truly honored to have her endorsement. I know I would have big shoes to fill, and I do not take that responsibility lightly. If elected, I hope to make Whitley and Laurel Counties proud.
As he said in his statement, Nick’s background is in law. He attended the University of Kentucky for undergrad and then the University of Alabama for law school. He was working as a public defender when he competed on “Survivor: David vs. Goliath” in 2018. Currently, he works as a prosecutor as an assistant commonwealth attorney for McCreary and Whitley counties. He married his wife Grisel Vilchez in September 2020.
Nick Has Been Vocal About Fighting the Opioid Epidemic
Nick has been a staunch fighter of the opioid epidemic, which has hit his home state of Kentucky hard in recent years — a post on the Kentucky Attorney General’s website says that in 2020, “drug overdose deaths in Kentucky increased by nearly 50 percent.”
In 2018, Nick told the University of Kentucky’s school newspaper that it was his mother’s death from an overdose in 2014 that fueled the fire to try to help.
“My mother’s passing helped me realize that there were more important things than to use my success for my own personal riches. I began to feel a duty to my community, and I felt a responsibility to return home and help in any way I could,” said Nick, adding, “I hope that I am making a difference for those people and their families. I truly believe that if there is a breath left in someone’s body, that life is worth fighting for.”
He added that “Survivor” helped him become a man and connect to people on a deeper level.
“Eastern Kentucky suffers from a poor economy and a drug epidemic, both of which have affected me personally. When I was growing up, I didn’t have someone to tell me how to apply for college or how to become successful. I figured it out by doing it …[‘Survivor’] helped me grow from a country boy, who was fun to be around, into a man who understands how to relate to others and connect on a deeper level,” said Nick.
Nick is not the only “Survivor” alum to pursue political office. Eliza Orlins ran for Manhattan District Attorney in 2021 but lost in the primary.
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on CBS. The 42nd season will air in the spring of 2022. Seasons 43 and 44 are casting now, so if you’ve always wanted to apply, now is your chance!
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