A lot of people believe that politicians are clowns — but in the case of one South Carolina man running for Congress, it's true.
Steve Lough, a Democrat who's vying to represent the Palmetto State's 5th District, is a former professional clown for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus.
"Yes, I am a clown … a real, professional clown," Lough said as he threw his hat in the ring to compete against Rep. Ralph Norman, the GOP incumbent.
"[I] graduated from Dartmouth College, then graduated from Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Clown College. Worked for Ringling Bros. B&B Circus for many years, Kinoshita Circus in Japan for three years, and for the last 10 years I performed 45-minute anti-bullying school shows … sponsored by McDonalds."
Lough says worked on both of President Barack Obama's campaigns "but I really found my heart in listening to Bernie Sanders in '16 talk about Single Payer Healthcare."
"My wife is Japanese (she also was a clown for Ringling Bros. Circus…she wore a kimono costume and folded a giant paper crane at intermission) and her father could not believe that the USA is so far behind in healthcare. He feels sorry for the people who need help in our nation. So that's one reason I'm running for Congress."
Lough said he wants work to stop mass shootings.
"Every family in America is being touched by gun violence in some way … We have to do something. Our children are asking us for help!" he said.
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