Missouri GOP candidate Valentina Gomez sparks fury with campaign video telling voters not to be 'weak and gay'- as she jogs in bulletproof jacket

A Missouri Republican running for secretary of state has sparked fury after posting a video where she tells voters to not be 'weak and gay.'

Valentina Gomez, a 24-year-old real estate investor, is seen running through the predominantly LGBTQ neighborhood of Soulard in St. Louis during the video.

'In America, you can be anything you want, so don’t be weak and gay,' Gomez said while jogging in a bulletproof vest in the video posted to her socials this week. 'Stay f***ing hard.' 

The clip then cuts to a photo of of Gomez holding a rifle - a common sight on her Instagram. 

Gomez, a Colombia native, is on the ballot in the August 6 GOP primary to choose the candidate for secretary of state.

Gomez is running for Missouri Secretary of State as a Republican, and since the state is heavily red, its likely that the winner of the Republican primary will win the general election

The incumbent secretary of state, Republican Jay Ashcroft, is running for Missouri governor, leaving the seat open. 

Gomez, though, has attracted far more attention than her counterparts simply for her controversial stances and provocative videos.

Gomez has attracted far more attention than her counterparts simply for her controversial stances and provocative videos

Chief among them was when she shared footage of herself setting two LGBTQ-inclusive books on fire in February, characterizing the literature as 'grooming, indoctrinating and sexualizing'. 

'When I’m Secretary of State, I will BURN all books that are grooming, indoctrinating, and sexualizing our children. MAGA. America First,' she wrote on X. 

After Instagram removed the video, Gomez told HuffPost she was: 'Just like President Trump,' adding:  'I am one of the most suppressed voices on Instagram.'

Gomez has previously said 'don't be gay,' when referencing 'countries that ban rifles, guns or even flamethrowers,’ as reported by radio station WCPT.

Her social media bio reads: 'Jesus is King. MAGA. America First.'

She opposes vaccine mandates and the 'transgender agenda.' 

Gomez is a prominent gun rights advocate who frequently posts pictures of herself holding and shooting firearms

Gomez took a flamethrower to 'grooming, indoctrinating and sexualizing' books in a viral video shared as part of her campaign

Her social media bio reads: 'Jesus is King. MAGA. America First'

Gomez has also expressed admiration for Andrew Tate who is accused of human trafficking in Romania. 

According to her LinkedIn, she has worked at Nestle Purina since October 2021.

Viewers quickly went to work responding to her latest campaign video, posted May 12, with many people calling her 'cringe' and 'pathetic' for running around with a bulletproof vest.

Liberal radio host John Shannon wrote: 'Nothing displays weakness more than taking a morning jog with a Kevlar vest on.'

There were some replies supporting her, but they were buried amid an onslaught of attacks and jokes at her expense. 

Gomez, a Colombia native, is on the ballot in the August 6 GOP primary to choose the candidate for secretary of state

Gomez has garnered a reputation for wading into conservative culture war issues - one of her favorites includes protecting children from the 'transgender agenda,' as she puts it on her campaign website.

She attacked transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney ahead of Mulvaney's speech to students at Saint Louis University, a Jesuit college in St. Louis.

'That dude is mocking women,' Gomez said in a video filmed in front of the university's campus, 'It doesn't matter how many surgeries, shots, or hormones you get, a man will never become a woman.'

Gomez is seen with former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy

Gomez has garnered a reputation for wading into conservative culture war issues

Gomez recently attacked Dylan Mulvaney, who spoke at a Missouri Jesuit college. She called Mulvaney 'a dude' with 'a penis'

Since the secretary of state serves as the chief elections official in Missouri, Gomez has floated plans to revamp the electoral system.

She believes the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, which possibly informs her idea to 'remove electronic voting machines to successfully transition towards universal paper ballot hand counting,' per her campaign website.

She also supports deploying the National Guard to monitor polling places in Missouri.