Will Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson follow in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s footsteps in launching a bid for a high-profile office in the Golden State?
Based on recent domain name filings—and the former wrestling champ's own flirtations with a political run—it’s a possibility.
On Jan. 27, somebody registered the domain names therockforsenate.com and dwaynejohnsonforsenate.com—sending the rumor mill churning that the “Ballers” star, a resident of Beverly Hills, could enter the race for Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat.
NEW DNS REGISTRATIONS - 2023-01-29 pic.twitter.com/CZTk27EEYv
— CATargetBot (@CATargetBot) January 29, 2023
Both domains currently link to parking pages maintained by GoDaddy.com. A search of the domains revealed that registrations for both were made private; attempts to contact the domain owner(s) were not returned by press time. A voicemail to Johnson's publicist was not immediately returned.
For Johnson, 50, a run for political office wouldn’t be entirely out of left field.
In a 2016 interview with British GQ, Johnson said he hadn’t “ruled politics out," saying the idea of being a governor or president was alluring.
More recently, Johnson told CNN anchor Jake Tapper in an October 2022 interview that while he’d “seriously considered” running for president, he was focused on raising his family.
If The Rock ran in California, it wouldn’t be the first time a popular action hero made the jump to politics.
Schwarzenegger, an Austria-born moderate Republican was elected governor of California in a 2003 recall election and won reelection in 2006. Schwarzenegger gave The Rock an on-screen nod in 2003’s “The Rundown,” telling the then-up-and-coming star to “have fun” in a brief cameo.
Johnson, a political independent, has been involved with political campaigns of both major parties. He ended up endorsing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the 2020 presidential election.
If Johnson wound up entering the Senate race, he’d be a wild card in an potentially crowded field of veteran California lawmakers.
Orange County Rep. Katie Porter threw her hat into the ring on Jan. 10; and Los Angeles Rep. Adam Schiff announced on Jan. 27. Other rumored candidates include Bay Area Reps. Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna.