The race to represent Northwest Ohio’s 9th Congressional District just got a whole lot more sweet as a healthy dose of Sugar was just sprinkled on the field.
David Gedert – often known by his drag alter-ego Sugar Vermonte – declared his candidacy on Tuesday to challenge Democrat incumbent Rep. Marcy Kaptur and Republican candidates state Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.) and former state Rep. Derek Merrin.
Gedert is running under the banner of the Libertarian Party.
“I see an opportunity in Ohio’s 9th [District] to make some waves, and I’m jumping in head-first,” Gedert told The Buckeye Flame.
Gedert is a small-business owner and community advocate who garnered national recognition by leading his mac-and-cheese food truck, Maybe Cheese Born With It, to second place on Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race,” season 15. He said he is approaching the congressional race with the same spirit that led to food-truck success.
“I started the food truck with a stimulus check and a smile,” Gedert said. “A lot of days I didn’t know what I was doing, but I jumped all the way in and the universe got out of its way to make it happen. I see the same momentum building here with this race.”
In addition to his entrepreneurship, Gedert is well-known in Northwest Ohio for his community service, including winning the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (now Blood Cancer United) Advocacy Mission Award and continuing to serve on the organization’s Leadership Committee.
He said he was approached by the Libertarian Party to run for Congress and immediately knew it was the perfect alternative to the two-party system, which he says is not working for Ohioans. He explained that the Libertarian Party is centered on championing personal liberties and that the party is the “most pro-LGBTQ+ party in the history of the United States.”
“We need to protect the elderly, we need to protect children, we need to protect people with disabilities and the vulnerable,” Gedert said. “And other than that, government really needs to get out of everybody’s way.”
Gedert is also out as an intersex individual, a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. He believes he might be the first out intersex individual to run for Congress.
“I have always stood out as the exception to every rule, so I have had to forge my own way through my entire life,” Gedert said. “I have faced it all and that has built within me a determination to solve any problem, and I’m ready to start fighting.”
Part of that fight now includes the drag artist facing off against Rep. Williams, one of the co-sponsors of Ohio’s version of a ban on drag and gender performance in public. Gedert says that Williams represents what is wrong with the Republican party.
“Williams is abhorrent to the values of anybody in the great state of Ohio,” Gedert said.”Nobody wants to have a spiteful little man legislating through control and anger. It’s not a good look for him or for Ohio.”
As Sugar Vermonte, Gedert expressed a much more streamlined view of Williams: “Bless his heart.”
As he starts to build recognition as a serious contender, Gedert has a clear plan on how he will approach his campaign.
“What would Dolly do?” Gedert laughed.
Gedert shared that he is endlessly inspired by Dolly Parton: her glitz, glamor and insightful words said with truth and love. He plans to apply that philosophy to his run for Congress.
“I want to grab your attention, but then people will be intrigued the more they hear what I have to say,” Gedert said. “I feel that I am the right person at the right time with the right ideas.” 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- For more on David Gedert’s candidacy, go to visit his campaign Facebook page here.
- To register to vote or to check your voter eligibility status in the state of Ohio, click here.
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