Who Is the Latina Republican Candidate Setting LGBTQ+ Books on Fire and Telling Voters Not To Be ‘Weak and Gay’?
Missouri Republican candidate Valentina Gomez is making waves, well… for all the wrong reasons. The 24-year-old real estate investor and former NCAA Division I swimmer has received national attention for her social media campaign strategy.
In videos posted to her social handles, Gomez has set LGBTQ+ books on fire and told voters not to be “weak and gay.”
The Latina candidate is running for Secretary of State Missouri with a message of fighting “a corrupt political machine.” Her strategy? Directly attacking the LGBTQ+ community and the country’s progressive ideals under the political umbrella of the MAGA movement.
A Latina candidate breaking the mold?
At just 24 years old, Valentina Gomez is living proof that Latinos are not a monolith. On her official campaign website, Gomez describes herself as a “woman of intellect and agility who possesses the highest educational qualifications among all candidates, having earned an MBA in Finance and Strategy from Tulane University at age 22.”
“Valentina’s family immigrated to the United States in search of the promises that resonate in its very foundations: security, progress, and hope,” her biography reads. “Valentina’s life is a testament to perseverance. Her success has not been inherited; she has earned it and continues to earn it through discipline and determination.”
However, the Latina candidate’s unapologetic political stance has caught the attention of social media. Gomez caused a stir with her viral stunt in which she burned LGBTQ+ books with a flamethrower. “This is what I will do with grooming books when I’m secretary of state,” Gomez says in the video.
Last Sunday, she went back on the attack with a video jogging in a bulletproof vest. “In America, you can be anything you want. So don’t be weak and gay,” she says. Gomez also appears in the video, briefly holding a rifle and pistol. The candidate tagged controversial British influencer Andrew Tate, who is behind bars in Romania on human trafficking charges.
Users on social media were quick to respond. “This is uncool,” said one user. “You are an embarrassment to real Latinos around the world,” said another.
Meanwhile, Gomez’s campaign defends her message
Gomez told Newsweek that she has been “overwhelmed by tremendous support.” “President Trump and I are leading the charge to take back our country from the weak and homosexual Biden-Harris administration, which has destroyed our nation on every front,” she said.
For her part, Maicoll Gomez, Gomez’s campaign manager, told NBC News that the “message is simple.”
“You want to be gay, fine, be gay. But don’t do it around children,” the statement read. “Stop putting books in libraries about sexualizing, indoctrinating, and grooming children. Children need to learn math and science, develop people skills, and get in shape while protecting their innocence. Not learning the ideologies that the radical left loves to impose on children. I am against all drag shows around children, pride flags in classrooms, teachers with pronouns, people who want to “change” gender, and people who don’t even know how to define what a woman is. If genitals don’t define gender, how can removing them affirm it? I just fear God.”
In a string of videos emphasizing physical training, the Latina candidate has garnered the support of controversial Republican Party figures such as Congressman Matt Gaetz and Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna.
She has also shared videos calling immigrants at Houston International Airport an “illegal invasion.” She has also called Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele “an example of honest leadership.”
In short, Valentina Gomez proves that saying all Latinos are the same is definitely impossible.
