Mike Itkis, a registered Democrat running as a third party candidate for a seat in the New York House of Representatives, appeared in a pornographic film to raise awareness for his campaign.
Itkis, who describes himself as a “liberal independent” on his website, is running in the state’s Twelfth Congressional District against incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Jerry Nadler and Republican candidate Mike Zumbluskas. The left-wing challenger is running on the basis of “abortion rights, gun control, equal economic opportunity for all, strong social safety nets, and proper government control of markets” Nadler, who has been in office for fifteen years, is in no real danger of losing his seat to either challenger.
To underscore his support for legalized prostitution, Itkis starred in a 13-minute porno with porn actress Nicole Sage and then uploaded it to the Pornhub website, City & State New York reported.
A 2020 New York Times investigation found that Pornhub provided thousands of videos of rape and sexual exploitation, and the site’s parent company, Mindgeek, is now facing a lawsuit for allegedly posting child sexual abuse material.
Manhattan congressional candidate Mike Itkis publishes a porn video to highlight his sex positive platform https://t.co/7ILZhths4v
— City & State NY (@CityAndStateNY) October 14, 2022
“I’m very introverted,” the 53-year-old Itkis told City & State. “I’m kind of a nerd who doesn’t like to be the center of attention if I can avoid it. But I thought the issues I was addressing were so important … I wanted my issues to be talked about in some way.”
Itkis isn’t the only candidate for New York Congress in 2022 to bare all to make a political statement. Democrat Brittany Ramos, who ran in the primary for the Eleventh District, appeared as a stripper in 2019. She described her job as part of her anti-war activism.
Zumbluskas, the Republican candidate, said he understood Itkis’ decision to star in porn.
“You’ve to do what you’ve to do,” he said. “The media ignores anyone who’s not a Democrat in this town.”
