When former reality TV star Surya Yalamanchili ("The Apprentice") announced his candidacy for the 2nd Congressional district, he came out as an independent. Now, after a few months of campaigning, he has decided to pursue the Democratic nomination. The announcement from his website:

I am excited to announce that I will seek the Democratic endorsement for the Ohio 2nd District US House seat. I entered this race as an Independent because of my deep frustration with the current state of our political system and its inability to address our serious national challenges. As I’ve made my way across the 2nd district, it has become clear to me that I can do the most good from within the Democratic party. By fighting for pragmatic solutions to our significant policy challenges, I am confident that I can be the leader the 2nd district deserves.

This campaign started with the goal of making real progress on our long-term challenges by elevating policy over politics. Over the past few months, my belief that our campaign will be successful has only strengthened. We will take the federal government and the Democratic Party in the right direction and run a winning campaign that the people of the second district deserve– one focused on solutions and not politics. Our campaign will continue to eschew special interests and refrain from petty, divisive attacks. We will stay focused on the dialogue of what it will take to enhance and rebuild the core of what makes our nation great. I look forward to spending the coming months with the people of the 2nd district, talking about the substantive issues that will define America’s future.

I am not sure how much this helps his candidacy. It's still a tough Republican district in Southern Ohio whose current Representative is the slightly-crazy "Mean" Jean Schmidt. His website is still a little skimpy on the issues so we'll have to see if he's a good fit or not.