HGTV Star Ben Napier Once Pursued A Career In Politics (& Erin Wasn't Happy)

Ben and Erin Napier earned their fame (and cushy net worth) thanks to their time on HGTV. But if Ben's political career had been more successful, that never would have happened. Suffice it to say, Erin is thrilled with how everything turned out. 

"Home Town" fans may recall that back in 2021, the couple sat down for an interview with CBS News' "Sunday Morning." The visit saw the Napiers dive into a bunch of topics, and one that really stuck out was Ben's past political career. As it turned out, before co-starring with his wife in "Home Town," Ben had big dreams of a leadership position in his own home town of Laurel, Mississippi. Ben quipped that if his political goals came true and he had been elected to the city council in 2013, he would have been too focused on the job to entertain anything else. After being asked if he might pursue a political career in the future, Ben answered with a resounding no — something Erin was only too happy to back up. "You better never run for office again," she laughed, eyes widening at the very idea. She later reiterated her plea that he not try a second time. "I can't take it," she chuckled.

Granted, that's not to say Mrs. Napier wasn't hands-on in her husband's campaign. Quite the opposite, as it seems Erin's hesitation stems from everything they both poured into the endeavor.

Erin Napier might not have loved Ben Napier's political aspirations, but that doesn't mean she wasn't enthusiastic about helping him. In fact, she told "Sunday Morning" that she was the designer behind Ben Napier's campaign materials.

That's not to say all those materials landed as expected, though. Au contraire, and both Ben and Erin poked fun at what went wrong. For starters, Erin explained that because Ben was running as an independent candidate exactly one month before the Fourth of July, they'd gone with the slogan, "Independent's Day," which didn't quite land. "It sort of went over everybody's heads," Ben mused. Erin couldn't hold back giggles at that. "Nobody got it!" she laughed, throwing her head back. That wasn't the only faux pas. Ben revealed that Erin also made massive banners to be hung on buildings — and once again, many missed the point. "Everybody thought that I was a musician ... everybody was like, 'Oh yeah, you're going to be playing a show on June 4th, aren't you?' Like, 'No, I'm running for office,'" he recounted.

To be honest, we kind of get why Erin didn't enjoy the experience all that much — especially if she was behind the slogans and banners that no one understood. That said, she did admit to being super proud of Ben for trying.

Erin and Ben Napier have admitted that they considering living somewhere other than Laurel right out of college, but from the moment they decided to stay, they were committed to doing whatever they could to uplift their home town. With that in mind, it's not exactly surprising that Ben's campaign highlighted that determination.

As seen in a 2013 blog post on the couple's website, Laurel Mercantile Co., Ben was hyper-focused on making the city a place young people wanted to stay in. "As a youth minister, I understand that if you lose your young people, you lose your future. If we wait for someone else to pick up the reigns and be a cheerleader for this city then we will fall into decline," his statement read.

Well, Ben might not have been successful in his campaign for city council, but there's no denying that he and Erin have done just that and on a much grander scale than local politics would have offered. As he explained on "Sunday Morning," "Through this, we've been able to accomplish so much more, not just in Laurel, but across America." While "Home Town" viewers have shaded Ben and Erin Napier on a number of occasions, we're willing to bet that Erin prefers that over watching her campaign banners fall flat.