Tareq Salahi Running for Governor of Virginia

Tareq Salahi is making the headlines once again, but this time his eyes are set on the governor’s mansion.

Salahi said he plans to run as a Republican for governor of Virginia in 2013.

“Somebody needs to make a difference, I figured I am someone,” he told NBC 6 Friday morning.

He and his wife allegedly crashed the November 2009 State Dinner at the White House. The Secret Service said the couple hadn't been invited to the dinner, but the Salahis said they were.

When asked whether his candidacy would be taken seriously, Salahi admitted he had concerns but was generally pleased by the public’s reaction.

“We have been looking at that carefully in the last 48 hours, but we have been pleasantly surprised,” he said.

He added that the number of fans on his Facebook page had skyrocketed by more than 5,000 since his announcement earlier this week.

Salahi will run against current state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and said it’s one of the main reasons for his bid.

“After I’ve seen the current attorney general attacking people personally or attacking private businesses without any true justification, I decided it’s time for a change,” he said.

Salahi said he’s still in the process of divorcing his wife, Michaele Salahi. His wife previously appeared on NBC 6 to premiere her single "Bump It."

He filed for divorced after TMZ reported she allegedly ran away with the lead guitarist of the rock band Journey. The Salahis previously starred in the "The Real Housewives of D.C."

“The divorce is moving slower than I had hoped,” Salahi said. “We’re waiting for the other side to finish it up.”

He said, though, he was “hanging in there."

“It wasn’t just my wife that betrayed me with the cheating, but also Neal and the band, these guys were good friends, I considered them best friends,” he said.

In the meantime, Salahi is keeping his eye on the prize.

“I’m in it to win it,” he said.

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