Chelsea Manning: Insurgent bid for US Senate is genuine

NORTH BETHESDA, Md. >> Chelsea Manning is no longer serving the lengthiest sentence ever for revealing U.S. government secrets. She’s free to grow out her hair, travel the world, and spend time with whomever she likes.

But a year since former President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence, America’s most famous convicted leaker isn’t taking it easy. She’s making an unlikely bid for the U.S. Senate in Maryland.

Her aim is to unseat Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat who is seeking his third term.

The convicted felon’s longshot campaign for the June primary would appear to be one of the more unorthodox Senate bids in recent memory.

The internationally recognized transgender activist said she’s motivated by a desire to fight what she sees as a rising tide of authoritarianism in the U.S.