Porn "Star" to challenge Diaper Dave Vitter for the senate

BATON ROUGE, La. --Stormy Daniels strode onstage at a downtown Baton Rouge restaurant in a tight black blouse with a plunging neckline and a knee-length skirt in the popular purple of Louisiana State University. She introduced herself with a warning.

"For those of you who don't know who I am," she told the lunch crowd at The Roux House, "I'd suggest that you don't Google that until you get home from work."

She's a Louisiana-born porn star who says she is considering a 2010 run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican David Vitter, whose family-values reputation was marred in 2007 when his name was linked to a Washington prostitution ring.

Daniels, 30, insists she's serious. She's spending her own money on a "listening tour" to hear what people have to say as she considers a possible run, and said she isn't just starting a publicity stunt to promote her work or embarrass Vitter. However, she said she hasn't lived in Louisiana for seven years -- she currently resides in Florida -- and would need to re-establish residency to run.

She sprinkled her presentation Tuesday with the occasional joke ("If you get any closer you're going to have to start tipping me," she told a crowd of reporters and photographers) but she kept the topics serious.

Daniels backs some issues common to many candidates, including bringing troops home sooner from Iraq and replacing the federal income tax with a national sales tax. Others are closer to her professional background, including pushing to remove child pornography from the Internet and keeping minors from viewing adult material.

She doesn't want to take questions about Vitter. "I think it's about time David Vitter started answering David Vitter questions," she said.