A man who legally changed his name to Literally Anybody Else and ran for president in 2024 is re-entering the political fray.
Else, a 37-year-old Army veteran formerly known as Dustin Ebey, is running for mayor in North Richland Hills, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth. Else is challenging the incumbent mayor, Jack McCarty, according to the Fort Worth Report.
“I decided to cast my hat just to see if there’s anybody else in North Richland Hills who wishes to express themselves,” he told the outlet. “As it was, [McCarty] was going to run unopposed.”
Else said he disagrees with the way McCarty and the North Richland Hills City Council handled a dispute with a member last year — an issue which the mayor called “ancient history,” according to the Fort Worth Report.
McCarty also told the outlet he’s ready for the campaign: “I get to live off results, not rhetoric.”
The Independent has contacted Else and McCarty for comment.
Else told the Fort Worth Report he’s not planning on fundraising or spending a lot of money on his campaign. However, he does want to attend meetings to help “create pressure for anybody who has something they need help on.”
Else made national headlines by running for president under the same name two years ago. Else explained his motivation in an interview with Texas news network WFAA: “This isn’t about me ‘Literally Anybody Else’ more so as it is an idea. We can do better out of 300 million people for president.”
“I’m not delusional. This will be very hard to do, but it’s not impossible. My hope is to have Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and then Literally Anybody Else right underneath,” he added. “I really want there to be an outlet for folks like me who are just so fed up with this constant power grab between two parties that has no benefit for the common person.”
Else told the Fort Worth Report he eventually plans to change his name back to Dustin Ebey.
“My name is legally Literally Anybody Else,” he said. “That name is more about branding, and I use it for government interactions and documents and social personal. I think the only other time, like in a social setting that people call me Literally, is my neighbor.”
Else currently works as an animal technician at a Dallas university’s lab, but he’s hoping to soon earn a master’s degree and go into research, according to the outlet. He and his wife, who works as a teacher, also share a five-year-old daughter.
