Oregon Democrat Exposed as Former Dominatrix Seeking House Seat

Is it me, or are political candidates just getting weirder and weirder? It seems that far more often than in days past, people who run for office are often revealed to have some rather interesting hobbies.

Take, for example, Oregon Democratic congressional candidate Courtney Casgraux, who was exposed for having been a dominatrix in Manhattan before she decided to run for a seat in Congress. The candidate, a 41-year-old self-described international businesswoman, spoke to reporters after a video leaked showing her involvement in the BDSM industry. Now, she is not only seeking to represent her state’s 1st District, but she also wants to “reclaim her sexuality.”

Courtney Casgraux was shocked when a video of her in a Midtown BDSM dungeon, posted anonymously on Reddit, was made public on August 31st.

“I was just panicking… then I was like, “Who did this?” and I started calling everyone that I knew from my past… I was hyperventilating and crying,” the Huntington Beach native recalled.

Casgraux (41), worked as a dominatrix when she was in her 20s or 30s. She charged clients $500 an hour.

The candidate created a Playboy profile to help her campaign by selling sexual pictures of herself at $150 each.

Casgraux posts more substantive content to her Playboy account. She explains how Article 2 of the Constitution gives presidential powers, impeachment, and her thoughts on the challenges facing small American farms.

Casgraux’s campaign has only raised $757 so far from 13 donors, but she plans to continue.

Casgraux never identified the person who revealed that she was a dominatrix in her past. She said that she was angry when it happened, “because it felt as if it was an attack against women, and not just on me.”

Casgraux, the latest candidate to embrace the freaky side of things, is not alone. Susanna G. Gibson, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Virginia’s 57th District became the center of controversy when it was revealed she performed online pornographic performances for money.

She’s getting more exposure Tuesday, not because of her political views but for what she did on the adult streaming site Chaturbate. She performed various sex acts with her husband in live videos, and she asked people to pay “tokens”.

The Washington Post reported that the 40-year-old nurse practitioner had hosted more than 12 live romps on the platform with her husband. These were then archived on Recurbate, a website accessible to the public, in September 2022, after she announced her candidacy.

The unconventional candidate was a Chaturbate fanatic with more than 5,770 followers. She repeatedly asked for “tokens” to be exchanged for “private” acts, adding that she “raised money for a great cause.”

What’s going on? These stories are a reflection of a new political landscape where voters no longer care about electing people who are “normal”? Gibson’s defeat could indicate that the country hasn’t gone quite as far yet. The fact that this seems to be happening more often suggests that change is on the way. We might not be too far away from the day when a former pornstar or dominatrix could become a congressman or president.