Chelsea Manning announces she's running for Senate seat

Financed by the LBGT or the Russians

Another piece of Obama's legacy. While I don't hold him accountable for Manning's traitorous acts, I do hold him accountable for commuting Manning's prison sentence. It is karma, I guess, that if Manning actually runs in the primary, Manning will be running to unseat a ... Democrat.

Edited to add ... It is interesting that neither federal nor Maryland law addresses convicted felons running for federal office. I know that the Constitution does not restrict felons from running.

The US Constitution is the sole authority on qualifications for a seat in the Senate.

Article I, Section 3, Paragraph 3 states: "No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen."

Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court decided that the Qualifications of Members Clause of Article One of the United States Constitution is an exclusive list of qualifications. Meaning an individual State cannot add its own qualification for its Senators or Representatives.

So yes, Manning can run for an be elected the Senator from Maryland. However...

Article I, Section 5, Paragraph 1 states: "Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members,..." An appropriate historical precedent: Victor L. Berger (SP-Wisconsin) was not seated after his election to the House in 1918 because he had been convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917. After the House refused to seat him Wisconsin held a special election in December 1919, which Berger won again. The House again refused to seat him.

My guess:
1) Manning loses the primary. I know Maryland is crazy, but I don't think Maryland is so crazy as to elect someone convicted of violating the espionage act. In case I am wrong...
2) Manning's candidacy in the election becomes a significant issue in the General Election. I don't suspect that issue would in and of itself actually change the outcome of any election. But in some "squeaker" states some Democrats might make promises...
3) When the Senate is sworn in, there will almost immediately be a Republican effort to unseat Manning. The final determining factor will be whether or not enough Democrats will cross the aisle to unseat manning. Maryland is virtually a lock for the Democrats. There is almost no chance that a Republican could end up with the seat, even briefly until a special election could be held. Even if it angers the LGBTQ community, there is no fear that unseating Manning would drive those voters into the arms of Republicans, or create an apathy in LGBTQ voters that would keep them away from the polls. So there is almost no risk to the DNC if it "green lights" its senators to unseat Manning.

So is it possible, yes... likely... no.