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Stacey Dash tries hand at politics

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A few weeks ago actress-turned-conservative pundit Stacey Dash set the Internet alight when she announced she intended to run for Congress. Dash filed papers this week to run for the 44th District Congressional seat.

In recent years, Dash, who was most famous for the ‘90s movie “Clueless,” has become more renowned for her appearances on FOX News and other conservative outlets. She first started making the transition from actress to pundit in 2012, when she declared her support for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. However, some of Dash’s comments drew a backlash. She has called for the elimination of BET and Black History Month and seemed to serve as FOX News’ go-to person to bash Black culture. Interestingly enough, her contract with FOX ended shortly after President Barack Obama left office. But now she wants to enter the political arena.

Los Angeles-based political experts treat Dash’s candidacy with skepticism.

Political writer and analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson said the success of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign means we are in an era where celebrity candidates are the in thing.

“In this era where celebrity trumps (pun intended) experience, political acumen, and just plain good common sense, a celebrity who throws their hat in the political ring would be more than a novelty, but would generate a lot of media and public fascination,” said Hutchinson.

He also predicted that a Dash candidacy would only guarantee another seat to the Democrats in the House.

“Her candidacy would be a boon for Democrats. They have one of the most polarizing political targets since Palin. This would give any Democrat a more than a fighting chance against someone like her. So all in all, her candidacy would be a good thing since it would almost guarantee another Democratic candidate in the House in 2018. That’s the sole value of a Dash candidacy,” said Hutchinson.

According to John Wood Jr., a Los Angeles-area black Republican and former congressional candidate, one asset Dash would bring to a campaign is the ability to raise money. She also has name recognition and is telegenic. But, sometimes you need more than that to win a campaign.

Wood compared a potential Dash campaign to Star Parker’s failed campaign for the 37th Congressional district. Parker is also a conservative media figure. Parker was able to raise more than $1 million, but she still lost to Democrat Laura Richardson, said Wood. (This seat is currently held by Rep. Karen Bass.)

“She (Parker) ran a partisan campaign in a liberal district,” said Wood.

He added that Dash’s past controversial comments could also come back to bite her.

Dash did not respond to requests for an interview. She currently does not have a campaign website and has not declared what seat she will run for. However, she does have an active Twitter account and asked her followers whether she should run for office.

Wood said she has not officially announced her campaign.

“She’s looking for the next thing to do,” said Wood

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