Vote classy, San Diego.

Ron Burgundy is dusting off his suit as part of a non-partisan campaign to encourage young people to vote in the November 2018 midterm elections.

His first stop? Oceanside.

On Thursday, April 12, Will Ferrell — aka San Diego newsman Burgundy in the “Anchorman” movies — will join comedian Billy Eichner as part of Funny Or Die’s “Glam Up The Midterms” national campaign, which kicks off in California’s 49th congressional district, a crucial seat being vacated by longtime incumbent Darrell Issa, R-Vista.


Issa announced in January that he will not seek re-election this year after nearly two decades in office.

“I could not be more excited for our first official ‘Glam Up the Midterms’ live event in CA-49 next week, especially since I’ll be joined by a real San Diego legend in the one and only Ron Burgundy,” Eichner said. “Best of all, we’ll be registering a lot of people to vote in advance of the upcoming primary in CA-49 and the midterms in November. Although I am a proud member of the Television Academy, it’ll be a nice change of pace to talk about voting for something other than Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series.”

To be eligible to attend the evening event — location unknown at this time — attendees must register to vote or sign up for election alerts here.

HeadCount — the non-partisan, nonprofit organization behind the voter-registation effort — registered more than 5,000 voters last month at March For Our Lives events across the nation. Since 2004, it has registered nearly half a million voters at music festivals, concerts and hundreds of live events.


“I had a dream last night that several small town Americans called me and were begging me to have more TV and film personalities lecture them about politics,“ said Eichner, known for his irreverent but enlightening Billy on the Street series on Funny Or Die. “So I’m here to answer their prayers!

“In all seriousness, I have certainly skipped more than a few midterm elections in my day — and now I deeply regret it. So, after years of shouting at people on ‘Billy on the Street,’ I’ve decided it’s time to use my voice to do some good and to encourage young people all across the country not to make the same mistakes I did. Say what you will about me, I have a lot of energy and I can’t wait to use it to help get out the vote … .”


Twitter: @outdoorlivingsd


michael.rocha@sduniontribune.com