Hank The Cat Wants To Be Your Senator, Virginia

Frances MartelFeb 27th, 2012, 9:28 pm

Non-human animals in high levels of public office is no innovative idea– Roman Emperor Caligula often touted his beloved horse Incitatus as a potential candidate for consul. But it has been quite a while since the idea was entertained seriously, and yet it feels apt that, if it had to happen during any campaign, the 2012 race is the way to go. Virginia, meet Hank: a cat would would like to be your Senator, running for an open seat against Tim Kaine and George Allen.

Hank is a 9 year old Maine Coon, and he is on the ballot. He is owned by Campaign Manager Matthew O’Leary, who told the press that Hank is a “conservative,” as he went out of his way to claw apart O’Leary’s liberal books. He is a write-in independent candidate, however, as he was in the State Senate campaign where he received five votes. He is also a social media guru of sorts. “Cats are really adept at tweeting since, you know, birds,” O’Leary noted.

While rival Kaine had his controversies as head of the Democratic National Committee and former Senator Allen is now mostly known for, well, this, Hank has a history of laziness and assaulting plastic bags.

Fox 5 Virginia’s exclusive interview with Hank below:

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