One Arizona pastor who is running for Congress received a very secular endorsement from a local strip club, the Arizona Republic reports.
The Rev. Jarrett Maupin, who says he is a member of the Progressive Christian Coalition, isn’t put off at all by the endorsement, telling the news site that “the Lord works in mysterious ways.”
According to the news site, the Phoenix strip club, the Great Alaskan Bush Co., showed off its support of the Democratic candidate on its sign on Grand Avenue, which read, “Jarrett Maupin for Congress ‘The Rev.’”
Maupin told the Arizona Republic that the owner had told him that employees were backing him because of his stances on affordable student loans, all-day kindergarten and raising the minimum wage. “What can I say? I support freedom of speech, single moms and college students,” he said. “In the long run, it might not be good for [the club]. My goal is to help young ladies get their clothes back on.”
The pastor told the news site that he hasn’t “spent a penny” at the club and isn’t at all upset about the attention the sign will surely bring. “Everybody goes in there,” Maupin said. “Men and women, doctors, lawyers, construction workers, members of the Legislature, I'm told. A lot of people are going to see it.”
He is vying against three other Democrats to be the Democratic candidate for the 2014 election that will decide who will take retiring U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor’s seat.
The progressive pastor will not be able to vote for himself in the primary election, however, because of a 2009 felony: He was convicted of making a false statement to FBI investigators about alleged illicit activities by former Arizona Mayor Phil Gordon.
Read more at the Arizona Republic.