RALEIGH — Had she won, Stormy Daniels might have been the only U.S. senator who could perform a lap dance, lip-sync Motley Crue and descend a staircase in stiletto heels.
But from The Men's Club in Raleigh, bathed in purple light and dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, the Louisiana-born sizzler announced that she would drop her bid for national office — canceling what could have been the nation's most arousing race.
"I thought I would be accused of making a mockery of the system," Daniels said, a stud twinkling in her cheek. "But you can be blond and sexy and ... not be an idiot. For some reason, our society equates sexuality with stupidity."
Star of more than 100 adult films, the curvaceous performer found herself drafted last year into challenging U.S. Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana, the Republican incumbent whose family-values reputation suffered when his phone number turned up in the records of an escort service run by the "D.C. Madam."
Widely considered a gag, the "Draft Stormy" movement formed a Web site. But Daniels, born Stephanie Gregory Clifford, chose to take it seriously. She traveled around Louisiana on a listening tour, expecting to be heckled but instead winning praise for her honesty.
A few weeks ago, following the Republican National Committee scandal in which party officials spent nearly $2,000 in a sex-themed Hollywood nightclub, Daniels declared that tab to be admirably frugal and switched her party affiliation to Republican. She called for creative thinking and entrepreneurship, pledging to make a final decision on her candidacy April 15 - in the middle of her stint at Raleigh's Men's Club, where she is performing through Saturday.
Then reality hit.
"It's expensive," Daniels said. "I actually found that very sad. The cost of running for office keeps the best people from running. You need someone to represent the average person, and the average person can't afford to run. You get this vicious cycle of Ivy Leaguers."
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