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sam-dumitriu
8th November 2012

‘Orc Assassin’ gets elected to State Senate

WoW player Colleen Lachowicz has been elected to the Maine State Senate
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TLDR

World of Warcraft player Colleen Lachowicz has won her race for State Senate in Maine. In her spare time, Colleen is a level 68 Orc Assassination Rogue on the MMO World of Warcraft and her hobby became a key talking point in her race for State Senate.

State Republicans ran vicious attack ads against her, highlighting her time on the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.

One postcard sent out to Maine voters said “We need a Senator who lives in our world, not Colleen’s world.”

The attack campaign included a website highlighting posts she had made on WoW forums and taking comments out of context including “I like to stab things” and “I love poisoning and stabbing! It is fun” alongside more political statements like “I may have to go hunt down Grover Norquist and drown him in a bathtub.”

“These are some very bizarre and offensive comments, and they certainly raise questions about Lachowicz’s maturity and her ability to make serious decisions for the people of Senate District 25,” said Maine Republican Party spokesman David Sorensen.

Colleen explained herself in a CNN interview “It’s just a hobby, just like anything else.” She spoke of receiving support from all over the world, including from conservatives who thought the way she was being attacked was wrong. Republican gamer Kara Zielke told the Maine GOP that “We may have different political views but I wont stand by while my fellow Horde are treated this way,”

It appears the Maine GOP’s strategy has backfired, alienating younger voters who identify as gamers and appearing out of touch.

With over 10 million subscribers, Blizzard’s World of Warcraft is one of the world’s most popular games.

Colleen isn’t the only  gaming politician, PM David Cameron claims to have completed Angry Birds and Labour MP Tom Watson has defended gaming in parliament numerous times.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey recently requested gaming systems be installed in his Ministerial office. His request was declined.


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