Heinrich and Flake surviving. (Discovery)
These two opposing senators are going to a desert island to survive
Alex Abad-Santos is a senior correspondent who explains what society obsesses over, from Marvel and movies to fitness and skin care. He came to Vox in 2014. Prior to that, he worked at The Atlantic.
Senator Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) is not a household name, but he might soon be. Heinrich, and fellow Senator Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) will star in an episode of a Survivor-like Discovery Channel show called Rival Survival.
“Disconnected from the world on an uninhabited island surrounded by shark infested waters that mirror the seemingly treacherous terrain of the U.S. Congress,” the press release reads, before explaining that the “two must put their political differences aside and work together for six days and six nights to find common ground through compromise if they want to survive.”
Rival Survival is basically Survivor without the voting. And Survivor without the voting, is, of course, a parade of humans with bright teeth and good hair alongside one contestant who constantly looks like an unwashed satchel of rickety bones. Casting directors know this, and Rival Survival knew what it was getting when it approached Heinrich, instead of, say, Mitch McConnell or Harry Reid.
Though he doesn't get the kind of press that the ab-flaunting Aaron Schock or the P90x addict Paul Ryan do, Heinrich is really handsome. He was voted a "hottest freshman congressman" honorable mention by Huffington Post in 2009, and he was also named one of The Hill's most beautiful people that same year. Here is Heinrich looking like a Christopher Reeve scion:
Martin Heinrich looking majestic in the moonlight. (Getty Images)
His rival survivor is Jeff Flake, a Republican Senator from Arizona known for his unpopularity. In April of 2013, Public Policy Polling found that he was the most unpopular sitting Senator in America.
What Flake lacks in appeal, he might make up for in survival skills. In 2013, he uploaded a “trip” he took with his two sons to a deserted island in the Pacific. Apparently going to this island without food and water is this family’s version of fun.
Will they survive? Yes, our government depends on it (though neither Senator is up for reelection). Will they fight? Probably. Will Heinrich go shirtless? Discovery is banking on it.
This episode of Rival Survival premieres on October 29.
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