The race for governor just got a whole lot sexier.
"Manhattan Madam" Kristin Davis is tossing her lacy brassiere into the political ring - with the help of one of the GOP's most fearsome strategists.
Though he's often labeled a "trickster," former Nixon, Reagan and Bushes operative Roger Stone tells us he's dead serious about getting Davis on the ballot.
"This is not a hoax, a prank or a publicity stunt," said Stone, who has been quietly huddling with Davis for months. "I want to get her a half-million votes."
Davis has spoken in the past about running against former Gov. (and alleged former client) Eliot Spitzer - to draw attention to the fact that she served nearly four months on Rikers Island while Client 9 escaped indictment.
"This started out being about Spitzer," admitted Stone, who in 2007 tipped off the FBI to Spitzer's hooker habit. "But now that it looks like he won't run, Kristin still wants to use her celebrity to highlight a reform agenda."
Davis laid out her credentials last weekend at a Libertarian Party convention on the lower East Side.
"I was valedictorian of my high-school class," said the golden-tressed Davis, sporting a modest black suit but wicked Christian Louboutins with 5-inch heels. "I worked 10 years in finance. I was vice president of a hedge fund. I went on to build a multimillion-dollar business from scratch."
While branding "taxation as confiscation," the former escort empress said the legalization of prostitution and marijuana could provide $2.5 billion in revenue to help close the budget gap.
"I'm a natural Libertarian," said Davis, who also embraces gay marriage and the views of the National Rifle Association.
Though some doe-eyed Libertarians flocked around her, others are questioning whether the crafty Stone is just using Davis to lure voters away from Democrats.
"No," he says firmly. "The [presumptive] Republican candidate, Rick Lazio, is a turkey. Kristin will get as many gun votes from the Republicans as pot votes from the Democrats."
Davis already has backers. She says that rapper 50 Cent has offered to put his G-Unit staff at her disposal. Northern California pot growers are also said to have promised contributions. And then there are Davis' former clients, some of whom are quite wealthy.
"They may be inclined to contribute to keep her from revealing their names," said one insider. "Or because they agree with her on the issues."
Even though she needs only 15,000 signatures to get on the ballot, she's shooting for 45,000 - and Stone doesn't see any problem getting them.
"Kristin knows lots of Penthouse Pets," he said. "We'll get four, make them notary publics and have them, suitably attired, collecting signatures at Grand Central Station during rush hour."
Davis is also ready to put her own pulchritude to work, having posed for a topless photo with "pot" written on one arm, "sex" on another and "legalize" across her chest.
"Unlike other candidates, she has nothing to hide," said Stone, who disputes the suggestion that "I'm some kind of puppeteer here. She's her own person. She argues with me all the time. And, usually, she wins."
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/02/07/2010-02-07_kristin_davis_alleged_eliot_spitzer_madam_to_run_for_new_york_governor_with_gop_.html#ixzz0etEcATQl
