Valentina Gomez Tells Voters Not to Be “Weak and Gay”
The Republican candidate, who has leaned heavily into homophobic rhetoric, seeks headlines ahead of the Missouri GOP primary.
A Missouri Republican seeking the secretary of state’s office is leaning into a provocative campaign video designed to portray her as “tough” while trying to simultaneously troll liberals and court conservative voters ahead of her party’s primary election on August 6.
Valentina Gomez, a 24-year-old real estate investor, was most recently seen in a campaign video running through St. Louis’s Soulard District, a predominantly LGBTQ neighborhood.
In the video, Gomez, wearing a bulletproof Kevlar vest, says, “In America, you can be anything you want. So don’t be weak and gay. Stay fucking hard.”
The video concludes with a photo of Gomez holding a rifle as Lupe Fiasco’s “The Show Goes On” plays in the background.
In a post on X highlighting the video, Gomez wrote, “Don’t be weak and gay. August 6th is the day we take Missouri back from these corrupt politicians. MAGA.”
Copying a common GOP tactic, Gomez appears to be hoping that her inflammatory statements will not only gain her media coverage but, ultimately, enough support to win the primary and, later, the general election in the conservative state.
She is also hoping to obtain the endorsement of former President Donald Trump ahead of the primary.
Gomez has pandered to the former president, telling Sinclair Broadcast Group’s The National Desk that Trump is being unfairly targeted in a political witch-hunt.
“President Trump and I are leading the charge to take our country back from the weak and gay Biden-Harris administration that has destroyed our nation,” she said. “I look forward to accepting [Trump’s] endorsement so I can ensure a free and fair election to the people of Missouri, where dead people and illegals will never be voting.”
Playing into Gomez’s hands, and potentially allowing the right-wing media darling to claim victimhood for exercising her political beliefs, Missouri State House Democratic Leader Crystal Quade criticized Gomez’s rhetoric.
“To all LGBTQIA Missourians, your existence should not be used as a political football,” Quade wrote on X. “This candidate cosplaying in a kevlar vest is bullshit. A stunt campaign built on bigotry is an embarrassment. You’re loved & belong in Missouri & I won’t stop until our laws reflect that.”
Former Democratic Secretary of State Jason Kander, an Army veteran and former captain in the Missouri National Guard, mocked Gomez’s video on X.
“So refreshing to see a female GOP candidate who never served in the military doing the whole veteran cosplay, stolen valor, bigotry as a substitute for strength routine as well as any man,” he wrote.
Gomez responded with a video message.
“What happened to ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me’?” she said. “We used to be strong, America. Now there’s a bunch of pussies crying in politics and on social media.”
Since launching her campaign, Gomez has leaned into culture-war issues and inflammatory rhetoric. In February, she posted a video — which ultimately went viral — of herself using a flamethrower to torch LGBTQ-themed books, reports the New York Post.
“This is what I will do to the grooming books when I become secretary of state,” Gomez said in the video, either unaware or deliberately feigning ignorance that the Secretary of State has no constitutional duty regarding book censorship or check-out policies for local libraries.
“These books are from a Missouri public library,” she added in the video, meant to troll some of the so-called “sacred cows” on the political Left, including support for the LGBTQ community. “When I am in office, they will burn.”
Missouri’s current secretary of state, Jay Ashcroft, is running for governor. Gomez faces seven other opponents in the upcoming primary.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
