As part of the special election for Rocky Adkins’s vacated seat, state Senator Phillip Wheeler used a photo of Governor Beshear posing with drag queens in the state capitol as an example of the “evil” that Democrats are promoting. He told visitors to a rally to “Take a look, these are the values the Democratic Party of today is out there trying to convince our children is the right way to live.” He went on to say that the election was a “fight for the soul of America, a fight against evil.”
The photo shows Beshear posing with members of the Kentucky Order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a charitable group that works with LGBTQ people.
Wheeler was called out by numerous people after making the remarks, including by the wife of Democratic candidate Bill Redwine, saying that people who posted anti-LGBTQ comments were using social media to “spit out hate.”
Today, the Kentucky Democratic Party issued a statement calling on Senator Wheeler to resign, and for Republican leadership in the General Assembly and the Republican Party of Kentucky to condemn the remarks and all “bigoted campaigning.”
Said Marissa McNee of the KDP:
“It’s time for Phillip Wheeler to go. He’s an embarrassment to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and his hateful, ignorant comments do not have any place in the Statehouse. If Senator Wheeler does not resign, the Senate must censure him immediately.
“Kentucky Republicans need to make it clear – verbal attacks against the LGBTQ community will not be tolerated. Homophobic campaign messaging will not be tolerated. This type of campaigning is gross and dangerous. It’s not enough to just appear at rallies and appear sympathetic – this type of campaigning must end and be denounced at all levels of the Republican Party.”
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