The palpable surge of political enfranchisement sweeping America since Barack Obama's nomination clinch reached its logical conclusion this afternoon, when a note over the Defamer HQ transom confirmed that, yes, porn star Mary Carey has declared her candidacy for the State Assembly. The North Hollywood resident, who last ran for state office during the 2003 gubernatorial recall, is gathering signatures as we speak to run against District 43 incumbent Paul Krekorian. "I have always loved politics and know that the State Assembly would be a better position to begin my career in politics," Carey said in a statement released a few hours ago. "I want to energize people into caring about local politics again - much like we've seen in the national primaries. But unlike one of the presidential primary contenders, I'm actually a politician you'd want to get screwed by!" Alas, we refrain from editorial endorsements, but assuming she qualifies, the civically horny-minded among you will want to look for her legal name, Mary Cook. And God bless America — or something.