Manhattans Congressional Candidate Releases Porn Video To Promote

Manhattan congressional candidate Mike Itkis is letting it all hang out to win votes ... releasing a sex tape to show he's got the goods to go to Washington.

Itkis is locked in battle with the long-time incumbent, Rep. Jerry Nadler. The challenger is running on a sex-positive platform, so to prove he's not all talk, he posted a 13 min video of him doing the deed with porn star Nicole Sage. He posted the vid -- titled "Bucket List Bonanza" -- on a popular porn site.

As for his bona fides ... Itkis is all about legalizing sex work, so that's how he rolls.

He told City & State, "If I would just talk about it, it wouldn’t demonstrate my commitment to the issue. And, the fact I actually did it was a huge learning experience, and it actually influenced items on my platform.”

The 53-year-old is running as a 3rd party independent ... kind of a cross between the Birthday Party and the Birthday Suit Party!

He says it's the first time he's ever had sex on camera ... “I’m kind of a nerd who doesn’t like to be the center of attention if I can avoid it. But, I thought the issues I’m trying to address are so important… I wanted to have my issues talked about in some way.”

Politics ... it's a hard business.