Valentina Gomez, a candidate in the GOP primary for Missouri’s Secretary of State, was defeated yesterday, polling just 7.5% of the vote.

Ballotpedia had Gomez in sixth place with 46,304 votes. The Republican winner was Denny Hoskins with 149,394 votes (24% of the vote).

Gomez’s stunning defeat is noteworthy because she made national headlines with her virulently anti-queer campaign. Gomez, a 25-year-old property investor, posted a campaign video earlier this year. Within it, she set fire to LGBTQ+ books that have been banned in some school libraries. In another video, she told viewers “In America, you can be anything you want. So don’t be weak and gay.”

She followed it up with other videos attacking people for being “gay”.

Of course, she also slammed Pride Month.

Gomez brother and Jersey City mayor

Earlier this week, Gomez engaged in an online spat with the Democrat Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop.

For the past six years, Valentina Gomez’s brother, Jonathan Gomez Noriega, has worked as the primary aide to the mayor. Fulop also appointed Gomez Noriega to the city’s LGBTQ+ Taskforce.

Local press uncovered the fact that Gomez Noriega had donated a total of $1,250 toward his sister’s campaign in Missouri. When the news broke, several organizations also on the LGBTQ+ Taskforce expressed outrage. Some of them backed a petition calling upon him to be kicked off.

Gomez Noriega duly announced he was withdrawing from the task force, and issued a statement on X saying, “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,” he said.

“Political differences should not destroy families.”

However, Valentina Gomez then launched attacks against Mayor Fulop on social media. She says Fulop threatened to fire her brother unless he unequivocally denounced his sister’s political viewpoints.

Fulop responded with messages he said he exchanged with Valentina’s brother. He also indicated Jonathan Gomez Noriega no longer worked for the city.

“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,” Fulop said. “Second, You can see how strongly I feel about the LGBTQ community and I’ll share the text messages we exchanged so ppl know ill fight for them when people are watching and the same when they can’t see what I’m doing.”

In short, within 48 hours, Gomez managed to crushingly lose her primary and play a role in her brother losing his job.

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GOP candidate slams “weak and gay” Pride Month in vile video rant

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