This week in Lebanon, Ohio, “Luscious Larry” hit the streets to pass out fliers announcing his bid to be Ohio’s next governor. Running in the Democratic primary, Luscious Larry, whose real name is Larry Ealy, is pretty open about the 26 years he spent as an exotic dancer—in fact, he seems rather proud of the… er… accomplishment, bragging about it on his flyers and website.
One flyer reads: “Larry Ealy, Former Exotic Dancer Known as Luscious Larry, Has Launched His Second Bid for Ohio Governor,” [Punctuation added.]
Veteran Ohio political activist Lori Viars, who received one of the flyers, quipped on Facebook, “Guess he’ll have plenty of pole workers.”
The bio on Ealy’s website—LusciousLarryforGovernor.org—reads:
Mr. Ealy is very open about his past. Before going into politics, he was a professional weight trainer and bodybuilder. He was also an exotic dancer for 26 years. Mr. Ealy wants his supporters to know that he doesn’t have any hidden agendas and isn’t ashamed of his experiences.
He reportedly danced with a crew called “Luscious Larry & the Raw Deal.”
Ealy, who is from Troutman, Ohio, managed to garner 17,197 votes in the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary — 17 percent of those cast statewide — against former Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald. FitzGerald ended up winning the primary, but losing to Gov. John Kasich in the general election. According to the Dayton Daily News last December:
During an interview at the time, Ealy said that he was running because he believed “the Jewish Democratic party is behind the deprivation and the conspiracy to keep black people deprived of all civil rights.”
He also said he was allowed to practice law without a license.
Ealy and three others were investigated for alleged irregularities in voter signatures on the nominating petitions he submitted to get on the ballot in 2014.
The grand jury declined to return an indictment against Ealy, but two of his associates were indicted:
Bruce Black of Dayton pleaded guilty to two counts of prohibitions related to petitions — a fifth degree felony — and was sentenced to probation on Oct. 26, 2017, Flannagan said. Jody Lane of Dayton was indicted on the same charges and a warrant was issued for him on June 29, 2017, according to documents on file at the Montgomery County Common Pleas Clerk of Court.
On his website, Ealy alludes to his legal experience in a section on perseverance:
Now, Mr. Ealy is a strong leader and public servant who studies constitutional, commercial, maritime, statutory law. He has used his legal knowledge to free innocent people from prison and right unconstitutional wrongs.
(Notice, there’s nothing there about a law license.)
Ealy’s son, Lance Ealy, also has a sketchy record. In 2015 he was sentenced to 124 months in prison after being convicted of filing more than 150 fraudulent federal income tax returns.
Luscious Larry’s campaign is focused on social justice issues. He wants all non-violent criminals released from prison and he vows that, as governor, he would work to get more felonies categorized as misdemeanors. He favors the legalization of marijuana, but also says he wants to remove drugs from “all communities.” (Not sure how that works. Marijuana will still be a drug, even it’s legalized.) He also wants new road construction, a “statewide cleaning,” and an African American studies requirement for high schools and middle schools.
Ealy is trying to raise money with a GoFundMe campaign, but has thus far only collected $5 toward his $100,000 goal.
Ealy, who also ran for president several years ago, faces a crowded field in the May 8 Democratic primary. The former head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray, is running, along with former Congressman Dennis “I see UFOs” Kucinich and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill “I was sexually intimate with 50 attractive females” O’Neil. (The Dems sure know how to pick ’em!) Rep. Connie Pillich and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni will also have their names on the ballot, as will physician Jonathan D. Heavey and political newcomer Paul E. Ray.
Ealy is offering campaign volunteers a free t-shirt and transportation to campaign events, prompting Joseph Platt to quip on Facebook, “Neither [GOP candidates] DeWine or Taylor have offered me an article of clothing. With Larry I get a t-shirt.”
You can watch an interview with Luscious Larry below:
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