A former professional clown is running for Congress in South Carolina.
Steve Lough — a former clown for the Ringling Bros. circus — is running as a Democrat in South Carolina’s 5th District.
“They joke that the president and Congress are all clowns,” Lough said when announcing his bid, according to The State.
{mosads}”Well, in my professional opinion, they are the worst clowns I’ve ever seen.”
Lough’s website is clownforcongress.com.
Lough said he wants to advocate for gun control and universal access to health care.
He cited the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, saying that he was working in a North Carolina school to help combat bullying at the time.
“For the next six months, I couldn’t sleep, felt depressed, and every time I worked with a 6-year-old volunteer in the show, I was reminded of the horror of that day in Newtown,” Lough said, according to The State.
“When none of our gun laws changed, I got mad.”
Lough has in the past volunteered on the 2008 and 2012 campaigns of former President Obama. He said he also volunteered on the 2016 presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Several other Democrats have also filed to run in the South Carolina district against Rep. Ralph Norman (R). The Democratic primary will be held later this year.
Norman took the seat in a special election last year after it was vacated by Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), who had become President Trump’s budget director. Though Norman only won the special election with 51 percent of the vote, the seat is not considered in danger of a Democratic upset in 2018.