Palm Beach Pete, the viral persona crafted by Palm Beach resident Peter Simel, says he is gearing up for a run at the Town of Palm Beach mayor’s seat in 2028. The declaration caps off months of internet fame that kicked off in March, when a roadside video of Simel cruising in a convertible lit up social feeds with memes and conspiracy chatter. What started as a curiosity clip has since morphed into a campaign-style website, a merch line and a platform that mixes Palm Beach leisure culture with tongue-in-cheek political “promises.”
How He Announced It
Simel rolled out his plans in a series of campaign photos and posts to his sizeable social following, saying he had given the idea of running for mayor “much thought,” according to the Miami Herald. The outlet reports he told roughly 263,000 Instagram followers that he intends to seek the 2028 mayoralty, and that his site is already selling Palm Beach Pete caps and other swag. As of the Herald’s reporting, it was still unclear whether Simel had submitted any official paperwork with election officials.
From Viral Clip To Campaign Merch
The whole saga started in mid March, when a passerby filmed a gray-haired man on I-95. Viewers quickly decided he looked like Jeffrey Epstein, prompting the man in the clip to pop up online, identify himself as “Palm Beach Pete” and deny the speculation. Fact-checking timelines show the video racing across platforms, and Simel later talked to media outlets to push back on the conspiracy angle. Celebrity sites picked up the story with short interviews and clips after the footage spread; Factually laid out the viral timeline, and TMZ ran an interview clip.
What His Campaign Actually Promises
The Palm Beach Pete “campaign” website leans heavily into lifestyle and humor rather than standard civic talking points. Among the featured pledges: “Free Botox for All Palm Beach Residents,” a year of free convertible use, more pickleball and padel courts and free tennis lessons, all side by side with a shop selling $35 caps. That mix of winking policy ideas and branded merchandise is front and center on the site, which runs on Shopify and includes full product pages and a mailing list sign-up. VoteForPalmBeachPete.com lays out both the platform and the store.
Who Is Peter Simel?
News reports and public profiles identify the man behind Palm Beach Pete as Peter Simel, a retired commercial real estate executive who lists Syracuse University among his credentials on LinkedIn. Business registry aggregators show that Palm Beach Pete Enterprises LLC was created in April 2026, with Simel named as an authorized member. Those profiles and filings remain the most concrete public details reporters have dug up so far. LinkedIn carries his education and career listings, and an entity profile on BizProfile reproduces the state filing.
Local Officials And Next Steps
The Miami Herald reported that it reached out to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections to ask whether Simel had officially filed, and was waiting on an answer. To actually land on a 2028 ballot, he will need to navigate formal filing windows, disclosures and fee requirements; until that happens, his bid exists as a social media announcement rather than an official candidacy. Voters, town officials and the press will be watching for any filings or public events that could turn the meme into a bona fide municipal contest.
For now, the whole operation looks like a social media driven publicity campaign with a political label attached, complete with groan-worthy gag-economy promises and a merch shop. It is, however, on the public record, and campaign finance disclosures and filing forms will ultimately show whether Palm Beach is looking at a serious outsider run or just one more curiosity in the celebrity era of politics.
