“Don't Be Weak and Gay” Missouri GOP Candidate Tells Voters in a New Campaign Ad
x.com/ValentinaForSOS
A Republican candidate for Missouri’s secretary of state released a video this week exhorting voters not to be “weak and gay” while running through a prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhood in St. Louis.
Valentina Gomez released the video on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, showing herself jogging in what appears to be a weighted or bulletproof vest and shorts.
“In America, you can be anything you want. So don’t be weak and gay. Stay fucking hard,” Gomez instructs viewers in the video, delivering one of the most unintentionally homoerotic lines of the 21st century so far. The video then cuts to a still photo of Gomez hoisting a firearm, followed by a campaign graphic.
Gomez was running through St. Louis’ historic Soulard district, according to local talk radio station WCPT. The Soulard district has housed a sizeable LGBTQ+ population since the 1970s, and hosts its own Pride event separate from the rest of the city each year.
On her campaign website, Gomez includes “protecting children from the transgender agenda” in her platform, accusing the “transgender industry” of causing “physical and emotional scars” to young people. She also rails against trans inclusion in sports, claiming there are “only two genders,” and demands that parents receive “transparent access to their children's school curriculum and lesson plans,” echoing other Republicans’ “anti-woke” crusade against educators. (Gomez also lists fighting human trafficking as a priority, but her original post tagged notorious right-wing influencer Andrew Tate, who is currently on trial in Romania for human trafficking and sexual assault.)
Social media stunts like these appear to be Gomez’s bread and butter. Earlier this year, Gomez posted another video in which she burned two library books — Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens and Naked: Not Your Average Sex Encyclopedia — with a flamethrower. But this video could carry heftier consequences, not because of the language Gomez uses, but rather her choice of soundtrack. As Gomez proudly acknowledged in a follow-up post, the video is scored by Lupe Fiasco’s 2011 song “The Show Goes On,” and even contains producer Kane Beatz’s recognizable audio tag (“Kane is in the building, n—a”). Though it’s unquestionably a great track to pump on a morning run, Fiasco — who has spoken out against homophobia in the past — doesn’t appear to have given Gomez permission to use his music in anti-LGBTQ+ campaign ads.
The candidates ran on on anti-diversity platforms and opposition to LGBTQ\+ rights and protections.
“We are aware and currently taking action. Thank you,” Fiasco’s team wrote on social media Tuesday.
Missouri Republicans have rapidly escalated their fight against LGBTQ+ rights in the past year, introducing some of the harshest restrictions in the U.S. on healthcare for trans adults and proposing to put trans-affirming teachers on the state sex offender registry. But anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns may not deliver the votes that candidates like Gomez are counting on. In April, 13 school board candidates across the St. Louis area who ran on “anti-woke” platforms all lost their elections. Guess they should have stayed fucking harder.
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Originally Appeared on them.
