Anti-Gay Republican Valentina Gomez Loses Primary
Valentina Gomez, a candidate known for her videos disparaging LGBTQ people, lost her bid for Missouri Secretary of State in the GOP primary.
Valentina Gomez, the Republican running for Missouri Secretary of State who based much of her campaign telling people not to be “weak and gay,” lost her primary, finishing sixth out of eight competitors.
Gomez, of St. Louis, filmed herself using a flamethrower to burn LGBTQ-friendly books, attacked LGBTQ people using vulgar language, called LGBTQ people “pedophiles,” and ran, in a bulletproof vest, through a historically gay neighborhood of St. Louis City while urging viewers not to be “weak and gay.”
Most of her videos ended with a still photo of the 25-year-old holding an AR-15 to her shoulder.
Many of Gomez’s videos show her at major events, such as the 2024 Paris Olympics or the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ranting about various right-wing conspiracy theories.
She called Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris a “hoe” and “little bitch.” And she referred to transgender people using an epithet for gay males.
None of those messages, including her promises to change what books are available in libraries, track down alleged pedophiles, or prevent transgender athletes from competing on female-designated sports teams, are part of official duties of the secretary of state.
Gomez appeared to be using videos posted to social media — which have gone viral, being gleefully shared by fellow right-wingers across the globe — to promote her candidacy and increase her name recognition.
One day ahead of election day, Gomez became enmeshed in another controversy after her brother, Jonathan Gomez-Noriega, who was working as an aide to Steven Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, N.J., was forced to step down from the city’s LGBTQ+ Task Force after donating $1,250 to his sister’s campaign.
In a post on X, Gomez-Noriega announced he was stepping down from the Task Force, and sought to distance himself from his sister’s remarks, but refused to disassociate himself from her.
“I may not agree with everything my sister says, but I love her. It’s this kind of boldness — stepping up for my family and maintaining our relationship — that makes our country strong. Political differences should not destroy families,” he wrote.
Different beliefs shouldn’t divide us. This issue touches dinner tables across America. I choose respect, peace, and the chance to embrace my loved ones, putting family above politics and any appointed position.
I do not and will never discriminate against ANY human being. I am…
— Jonathan David Gomez Noriega (@Jonathan_Goomez) August 5, 2024
Fulop later fired Gomez-Noriega from his job as mayoral aide, prompting Valentina Gomez to write a post threatening to sue Fulop.
That post contained a video, in which Gomez played a recording, purportedly of Fulop, threatening to fire Gomez-Noriega if he didn’t disavow his sister’s remarks about LGBTQ people, reports the Jersey City Times.
Fulop replied on X that Gomez-Noriega had been an “at-will” employee — meaning he could be dismissed at any time, for any reason — and had been fired because “he doesn’t reflect the values of the city.”
He included screenshots of text messages exchanged with Gomez-Noriega as evidence of the aide’s reticence to issue a firmer statement disassociating himself from his sister.
Valentina – first your brother WAS an “at-will” employee for the city – as of tomorrow he no longer works there bc he doesn’t reflect the values of the city. Second, You can see how strongly I feel about the LGBTQ community and I’ll share the text messages we exchanged so ppl… https://t.co/3j1gYf8ihw pic.twitter.com/a1LFiTfH6B
— Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) August 6, 2024
The next day, Gomez lost her race, receiving less than 8% of the total vote, while Missouri State Sen. Denny Hoskins clinched the GOP nomination with 24.4% of the vote.
After the polls closed, Gomez posted a video to X thanking her supporters for putting their faith in her.
In a subsequent post, she said that she was spending the night at a “pedophile catch party” with Predator Poachers, a vigilante group that claims to organize child predator sting operations through hookup apps, including Grindr.
Another video on her X account appeared to show her serving as bait for an alleged predator.
In her last video, which showed police handcuffing the man she had been seeking to entrap, she boasted, “One down, many more to go. I don’t care where the pedophiles are hiding, whether they’re in our churches, schools, or governments. We’re coming for you. And every single citizen across the entire country needs to step it up.”
Gomez has not made any statement about what her future plans are.
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!
You must be logged in to post a comment.