Republicans really want to control the Virginia House of Delegates. They have expanded their kink-shaming campaign against Democratic House candidate Susanna Gibson, sending out thousands of mailers with quotes and screenshots stolen from her Chaturbate channel.
Virginia Republicans aren't done harassing Democratic state House candidate Susanna Gibson, the woman they're trying to scandalize for having sex with her own husband on livestreams for tips. Not only did an anonymous GOP operative leak archived videos and screenshots to reporters, but now—with two weeks to go until Election Day—the state Republican party has sent out thousands of mailers with censored quotes and screenshots from the archived streams.
In totally unrelated news, if the GOP sweeps the legislature, they will pass an abortion ban at 15 weeks or earlier. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's PAC has spent $1.4 million on an ad claiming there is no proposed abortion ban, just a "limit"—yet GOP candidates have called it a ban for months. Gibson's Republican opponent for the House of Delegates' 57th district is David Owen, who supports the proposed 15-week abortion ban.
Let's back up: Gibson, a nurse practitioner, and her husband, John, had an account on the website Chaturbate where they livestreamed themselves having sex and asked viewers for tips. Those videos were archived on other sites without the Gibsons' knowledge or consent, and a Virginia Republican operative sent that material to The Washington Post and the Associated Press in September. She vowed to stay in the race, saying "It won't intimidate me and it won't silence me."
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NBC 12 asked some 57th District voters how they felt about the mailing and said none were willing to speak on camera. While they felt people should probably know about Gibson's cam work, they said it "seemed a tad extreme." Amanda Litman, the co-founder of Run For Something, which helps women run for office, called the move "wildly fucked up."
Probably winning her more votes than it costs.
