On June 8, 2017, Hertzler announced his candidacy as a U.S. House Representative for New York's 23rd congressional district in the 2018 elections. As part of his campaign appearances, he plans to act "in the persona of Mark Twain", to present his ideas "through the brilliant humorist for all ages". He stated that this was a tribute both to Twain, who resided once in Elmira, and to actor Hal Holbrook, who had portrayed Twain on stage for more than six decades.