Valentina Gomez’s Anti LGTBQ+ Campaign Drastically Fails
Republican Valentina Gomez has officially lost her bid for Missouri’s secretary of state. Her drastic loss is proof that a strong social media following does not guarantee votes at the polls.
Gomez came drew about 7.4% of the vote, reaching less than 48,000 members of the Missouri electorate. Missouri State Senator Denny Hoskins won the primary vote with 24.4% of votes and will move on to face Democrat Barba Phifer in November.
Gomez made homophobia a huge pinpoint of her campaign, posting a variety of TikToks in which she condemns queer people. In one video, posted to X, Gomez is shown running through an LGBTQ+ neighborhood in St. Louis telling voters, “Don’t be weak and gay.”
Gomez’ persistence in demonizing queer people, along with posing with firearms and flamethrowers, likely isolated her in a far-right box. Even presidential candidate Donald Trump has refrained from similarly polarizing antics in his current campaign. Her frequent videos about queer people were so obnoxious and dated that many found them comedic. Some went as far as to make jokes about Gomez’s own sexuality, pointing out that driving a Prius is quite gay.
The primary winner, Denny Hoskins, is not much better regarding LGBTQ+ rights. Just last year, he voted for bills aiming to limit gender-affirming care for trans youth and requiring them to play on sports teams based on their assigned gender at birth. Hoskins also helped initiate the Missouri State Senate’s far-right Freedom Caucus, a group of Republican legislators attempting to push their party further right on issues like immigration and transgender restrictions.
In a recently released video, Gomez thanks her supporters and claims her campaign successfully “triggered every liberal.” Despite losing, she boasts of spending little on ads and not holding a fundraiser, instead relying on social media to spread her content. While Gomez is certain her campaign against queer people worked as a guiding light for her party, many consider her a big joke, which can be seen in the humorous comment sections under each of her videos.
Image Courtesy of Valentina Gomez on Facebook
