Dem House candidate spoofs ‘House of Cards’ in campaign ad

A Democratic candidate in South Carolina’s special House race is channeling his inner Frank Underwood in a new campaign ad.

In the ad, Archie Parnell, who is running for the real-life House seat once held by the fictional “House of Cards” antihero, is seen hovering over a chessboard, wearing a tuxedo and reflectively laying on a couch, all the while quoting Underwood.

“Always read the fine print,” Parnell says, as he sits on a rowing machine, like the one used by the Machiavellian president in the Netflix series. 

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“Shake with your right hand, but hold a rock with your left,” he says, staring strategically at plastic army men. 

Parnell is set to face off against Republican Ralph Norman to fill the seat for South Carolina’s 5th district, which was vacated by now-White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney in February.

In between quoting Underwood’s one-liners, Parnell takes a few jabs at President Trump, such as his decision earlier this month to fire FBI Director James Comey or that he reportedly divulged highly classified intelligence to visiting Russian officials.

“The president of the United States fired the FBI Director,” Parnell says in the ad, before turning to look into the camera. “That actually happened. It’s not in the show.”

“Donald Trump shared classified info with the Russians inside the Oval Office,” he says. “Yep, that’s a thing too.”

The ad ends by distancing Parnell from Underwood, saying that he is “no Frank Underwood, and Washington shouldn’t actually be like ‘House of Cards.'”

The fifth season of “House of Cards” debuted on Netflix on Tuesday.