Comedian, dog, and also a rhinoceros: Candidates who started as a joke — and won

A magazine article reviews four historical examples of candidates who began as a joke or protest and won: Icelandic comedian Jón Gnarr who became mayor of Reykjavík, Bosco the dog who served as honorary mayor in California, the rhinoceros Cacareco who received protest votes in Brazil, and Tiririca the clown who was elected to the Brazilian parliament.

The article reviews four historical examples of candidates who began their political careers as a joke or protest, but surprised with their victory. The first example is Jón Gnarr, an Icelandic comedian who founded 'The Best Party' in 2009 amid the economic crisis, and won six out of 15 seats on the Reykjavík city council in 2010, becoming mayor. He served one term until 2014, and later was elected to parliament in 2024. The second example is Bosco, a black dog appointed honorary mayor of the community of Sunol in California in 1981, a symbolic role he held until his death in 1994. The third example is Cacareco, a rhinoceros who received about 100,000 protest votes in the São Paulo city council elections in 1959, but her votes were invalidated. The fourth example is Tiririca, a Brazilian clown and comedian elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2010 with 1.35 million votes, serving four consecutive terms until 2026, when he was not re-elected.