I’m sure you’ve heard the news by now: Ted Cruz is bearded and…kind of hot? (Well, let’s not give him too much credit here. It’s the beard. It’s definitely the beard.)
Chalk it up to one-upping Beto, the post-apocalyptic dystopia we’re hurtling towards, or just, you know, the weird, wild world that is 2018, but Ted’s transformation made me think: What would other usually smooth-cheeked politicians look like with facial hair? And would they, too, suddenly achieve kinda-hotness?
So we decided to use the magic of digital effects to see what a bunch of Washington power players would look like bearded—and to let you vote on their thirst-trap level.
Mimi Montgomery joined Washingtonian in 2018. She’s written for The Washington Post, Garden & Gun, Outside Magazine, Washington City Paper, DCist, and PoPVille. Originally from North Carolina, she now lives in Del Ray.
