John McCain, Barbara Boxer, Olympia Snowe cameo on ‘Parks and Rec’

It’s an election year and many senators are out campaigning their hearts out, but not every U.S. senator is up for reelection this year. Those who aren’t on the campaign trail have plenty of time to do things like film cameos on “Parks and Recreation.”

In the NBC comedy’s fifth season premiere on Thursday night, Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope traveled from small town Pawnee, Ind., to the halls of power in Washington, D.C., and met some real-life politicians.

California Sen. Barbara Boxer, Maine Sen. Olympia J. Snowe and Arizona Sen. John McCain all made brief appearances on the comedy, with McCain reiterating the comedic chops he practiced during his guest spot on “Saturday Night Live” back in 2008.

McCain and Boxer won reelection back in 2010 and Snowe is retiring when her current term ends in January of next year, so the pressures of the campaign trail are off all three.

McCain and Boxer are both familiar with the acting thing. McCain made his big screen debut in 2005 when he had an appearance in the Owen Phillips-Vince Vaughn comedy “Wedding Crashers,” while Boxer has played herself on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Traffic,” “Gilmore Girls” and “Murphy Brown.”

ALSO:

Lindsay Lohan makes her Liz Taylor debut in ‘Liz & Dick’ trailer

‘SNL Weekend Update Thursday’ mocks Romney, ‘Fox & Friends’

‘Good Morning America’s’ Robin Roberts tells fans ‘I feel the love’

Join Patrick Kevin Day on Google+ or Twitter. Email: patrick.day@latimes.com

PHOTOS, VIDEOS & MORE:

Timeline: Emmy winners through the years