How did showbiz folks fare in the midterm elections?

Several celebrity candidates in the 2025 midterm elections experienced mixed outcomes, with a few emerging victorious, while many others fell short in their bids for government positions across various cities and provinces.

Here is the list of well-known figures, from actors, singers, athletes and former stars, who either lost or won the 2025 midterm elections:

Former Sen. boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, Original Pilipino Music (OPM) singer Jimmy Bondoc, TV host Willie Revillame, and actors Bong Revilla and Phillip Salvador failed to secure Senate slots.

While Revilla and Pacquiao failed to stage their political comebacks, their relatives succeeded in their respective cities and provinces.

Revilla’s wife, Lani Mercado, was proclaimed Cavite’s Second District representative, while their children, Jolo and Ram, secured spots in the same province as congressman and vice governor, respectively.

Meanwhile, in Sarangani and General Santos City, Pacquiao’s political clan continued with his brother, Rogelio Pacquiao, re-elected as Sarangani governor, while sister-in-law, Lorelie Pacquiao, clinched the mayoral seat in General Santos City. Adding to the family’s victories, Manny’s second son, Michael Pacquiao, also won as councilor in GenSan.

Former broadcaster and current ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo joined the “Magic 12” of individuals running for senator.

Returning to the Senate is host-comedian and former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.

Also retaining a Senate seat is longtime actor-politician Lito Lapid.. Content creator Dr. Willie Ong withdrew his Senate bid last February but was still among the Top 30.

“Star for All Seasons” Vilma Santos is set to make a political comeback as Batangas governor, while her son, Ryan Christian Recto, won as Lipa representative. However, her eldest son, Luis Manzano, fell short in his bid for vice governor. Their running mate, Mikee Morada — husband of host-vlogger Alex Gonzaga — secured first term as vice mayor.

Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres both secured spots in Leyte’s Fourth District race with the former returning to his congressional seat and the latter as mayor of Ormoc City.

In contrast, ex-couple Marjorie Barretto and Dennis Padilla failed to win council seats in Caloocan City. Barretto did not secure a spot as Caloocan’s first district councilor where she previously served the same position from previous years.

Former professional athlete and current Pasig City Vice Mayor Robert Vincent Jude “Dodot” Bautista Jaworski Jr. secured another term in office, while Jeric Teng, also a pro basketball player, won his first term as councilor of Gumaca, Quezon. Their fellow basketball stars Danny Ildefonso and Dondon Hontiveros, however, failed to garner sufficient votes in their respective electoral bids.

Actor Ejay Falcon, the incumbent vice governor of Oriental Mindoro, failed in his bid to represent the province’s Second District in Congress. Similarly, fellow celebrities also faced defeat at the polls: Marco Gumabao lost his congressional run in Camarines Sur’s Fourth District; Aljur Abrenica was unsuccessful in his bid for councilor in Angeles City, Pampanga; Rommel Padilla failed in his campaign for mayor of Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija; DJ Durano was defeated in his bid for mayor of Sogod, Cebu, while both Anjo Yllana and Emilio Garcia lost their respective races for vice mayor and mayor in Laguna.

Angelika dela Cruz, a former councilor in Malabon, was unable to make a political comeback while Ara Mina’s bid to return to politics in Quezon City failed to resonate with voters.

Meanwhile, Shamcey Supsup-Lee and Mocha Uson were unsuccessful in their respective campaigns for councilors in Pasig City and Manila.

On the other hand, Cai Cortez, Angelu de Leon and Jaycee Parker were re-elected to local government positions in the 2025 midterm elections, securing councilor seats in Taytay, Rizal, Pasig City and Angeles City, Pampanga, respectively.

Former actor Isko Moreno made his triumphant return to the Manila mayoral position, a race that included another actor Raymond Bagatsing and Tutok To Win Party-List representative Sam Verzosa, Frontrow co-founder and boyfriend of Rhian Ramos.

Moreno’s running mate, Chi Atienza, defeated incumbent vice mayor and actor Yul Servo, who ran again with Honey Lacuna. Moreno’s son Joaquin, also an actor, topped the race for councilor in the capital city’s first district.

In the fifth district of Quezon City, actor-politicians Alfred Vargas and Aiko Melendez were reelected as councillors, while Enzo Pineda finished outside the six allocated seats. Lou Veloso won a third consecutive term as councilor in Manila’s sixth district — a position he previously held from 1995 to 2004 and 2007 to 2013.

Daniel Fernando won his third and final consecutive term as Bulacan governor with fellow actor Alex Castro as his vice governor again.

Former ABS-CBN reporter Sol Aragones, for her part, will be Laguna’s governor, defeating actor Dan Fernandez. Beauty queen Leren Bautista, meanwhile, won a councilor seat in Los Baños.

Former “It’s Showtime” director and incumbent councilor of Pililla, Rizal, Bobet Vidanes, unfortunately lost the municipality’s mayoral race.

Rapper Michael Pacquiao, the second son of Pacman, made the cut for the 12 councilor seats in General Santos City, while  Arron Villaflor just sneaked in the four provincial board member seats in Tarlac province’s second district.

Also missing out on councilor seats were former “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate Ali Forbes (Quezon City, fourth district), actor David Chua (Manila, second district) and Wendell Ramos (Manila, fourth district).

Monsour del Rosario lost the vice mayor race in Makati to the city’s First District Rep. Kid Peña, though del Rosario’s running mate and outgoing senator Nancy Binay beat her brother-in-law Luis Campos.

In Parañaque, actor-politician Jomari Yllana’s wife, Abby Viduya, and his younger brother, Ryan Yllana, both lost their councilor bids in the city’s first and second districts, respectively.

Successful though in Parañaque’s first district were Yeoj Marquez, oldest son of Alma Moreno and Joey Marquez, and Roselle Nava’s husband Allen Tan.

According to reports, several celebrities who ran as party-list nominees are unlikely to secure seats in Congress based on the current results: Comedian Bayani Agbayani (Tupad), Zanjoe Marudo (ASAP NA), Wilbert Tolentino (Ahon Mahirap), Jeremy Marquez (Solo Parents), vlogger Norris John Okamoto (Lingap) and pageantry expert Jonas Gaffud (ARTE).