Ben Savage, the Jewish actor best known for the 1990s coming-of-age series “Boy Meets World,” is running to replace Adam Schiff, the Jewish Democratic congressman from California who is running for Senate.
Savage, 42, is among at least four Democrats running in the primary to replace Schiff in his Los Angeles-area congressional district. His Instagram post on Monday announcing the campaign focused on good governance.
“I’m running for Congress because it’s time to restore faith in government by offering reasonable, innovative and compassionate solutions to our country’s most pressing issues,” Savage wrote in the post. “And it’s time for new and passionate leaders who can help move our country forward. Leaders who want to see the government operating at maximum capacity, unhindered by political divisions and special interests.”
Schiff, who is running to replace the retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein, gained a national profile for his role in prosecuting former President Donald Trump in his first impeachment, as well as for his position on the congressional committee investigating the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
Alongside his acting career, Savage has some political experience. He graduated with a degree in political science from Stanford University and interned for Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, who was Jewish, in 2003, when Specter was a Republican. Specter later became a Democrat.
And this isn’t his first campaign: Last year, Savage garnered less than 7% of the vote in a run for West Hollywood City Council.
He became famous, however, for his starring role in “Boy Meets World” as lovable goof Cory Matthews. The show ran on ABC from 1993-2000 and was rebooted on the Disney Channel from 2014-2017 as “Girl Meets World,” which focused on Riley, the daughter of Savage’s character and his wife, Topanga.
Savage’s older brother is Fred Savage, the former star of another coming-of-age series, “The Wonder Years,” who has faced allegations of sexual misconduct. In adulthood, Ben Savage gravitated to playing Jewish characters. In a flashback episode of the drama “Homeland,” he played a younger version of Saul Berenson, the Jewish spymaster played by Mandy Patinkin. He also played the Jewish love interest of a woman who discovers she has Jewish heritage in the 2020 Hallmark movie, “Love, Lights, Hanukkah!”
In real life, Topanga — the canyon, if not Cory’s fictional love interest — remains out of reach. It’s in California’s 32nd congressional district, right next to where Savage is running.