Maebe A. Girl

Maebe A. Girl (born July 27, 1986)[1] is an American drag queen and politician. She came to prominence as the first drag queen ever elected to public office in the United States.[2][3] Girl is non-binary and uses she/her and they/them pronouns.[4][5]

Maebe A. Girl
Member of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council
Assumed office
May 2019
ConstituencyAt-Large (2021–present)
Region 5 (2019–2021)
Personal details
Born (1986-07-27) July 27, 1986
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Occupation
Websitemaebeagirlforcongress.org

On June 28, 2019, Girl announced a Democratic Party bid for California's 28th congressional district, challenging incumbent Adam Schiff.[6][7] If successful, Girl would have been the first transgender person ever elected to Congress.[8] She conceded the election on March 27, 2020, when the final results from Los Angeles County races were released, after placing third.[9]

On February 2, 2021, Girl announced that she will be running against Schiff again in the 2022 election.[10]

Early life and drag career

Girl was born in Pittsburgh. She subsequently moved to Chicago, where she did pizza tours of the city.[11] Girl later began performing in drag. As host and producer of the Lyric Hyperion Theatre's drag brunch, she became known for doing satirical impressions of political figures, including Melania Trump, Betsy DeVos, and Sarah Sanders.[12]

Career

Silver Lake Neighborhood Council

After working as an overnight supervisor at a homeless shelter, Girl declared a run for the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council on the basis of addressing the homelessness crisis, supporting LGBTQIA rights, and protecting immigrants.[13] Girl ran for Neighborhood Council with a slate of candidates called Silver Lake Progressive. She was elected in the election on April 16, 2019, becoming the first known drag queen ever elected to public office.

After her election, Girl formed the Silver Lake LGBTQIA Advocates Committee. She soon took on the position on the council of Homelessness Liaison, aiming to bridge the gap between the Homelessness Committee and the rest of the council. As part of this homeless advocacy work, she voted in favor of submitting a Community Impact Statement to Los Angeles City Hall to address homeless encampment clean-ups.

2020 congressional election

Girl announced on June 28, 2019 that she would be challenging Adam Schiff in the March 3, 2020 primary election for California's 28th congressional district. She said her goal for policy-making was in three parts: "PROTECT, ADVOCATE, and LEGISLATE".[14] Girl decided to run as a Democrat, challenging Schiff from the left, and receiving the endorsement of progressive groups, including the local branches of Our Revolution.[15]

Political positions

Girl considers herself a progressive, and has likened her policies to those of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[18] Her policies are strongly pro-LGBTQIA. She has said that dressing in drag is "part of who [she is] as a queer person" and is itself political, saying it "taught [her] how to engage with people".[19] Sitting on the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council's Homelessness Committee, Girl has highlighted homelessness in her campaign and tied it to the high number of homeless LGBTQ youth (40% of total homeless youth identify this way). She supports Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and abortion rights.[20]

Girl opposes going to war with Iran, Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, and increases in defense spending. She has repeatedly expressed support for the abolition of ICE.[21] [22]

Electoral history

2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California
California's 28th congressional district[23]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Adam Schiff (incumbent) 110,251 59.57%
Republican Eric Early 23,243 12.56%
Democratic Maebe A. Girl 22,129 11.96%
Independent Jennifer Barbosa 10,421 5.63%
Republican William Bodell 7,093 3.83%
Democratic Sal Genovese 6,294 3.40%
Democratic Ara Khachig Manoogian 3,920 1.78%
Democratic Chad D. Anderson 2,359 1.27%
Total votes 185,080 100%

References

  1. @maebeagirl on Instagram - "34 rotations around the sun today"
  2. "NowThis News: Meet the First Drag Queen Elected to Public Office in the United States". youtube.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  3. Blum, Steven (April 12, 2019). "Meet the First Drag Queen to Be Elected to Public Office in California". lamag.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  4. "Maebe A. Girl Is First Drag Queen Elected to Office in California". www.advocate.com. April 11, 2019. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  5. Zonkel, Phillip (April 11, 2019). "Maebe A. Girl might be California's 1st drag queen elected to public office". Q Voice News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  6. "Maebe A. Girl for Congress". Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  7. "She May Be the 1st Drag Queen Elected to Congress: 'People Can't Ignore You,' Says Maebe A. Girl". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  8. "The First Drag Queen Elected to Local Office Is Making a Run for Congress". Route Fifty. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  9. "Q Voice News: Maebe A. Girl, Drag Queen Running for Congress, Finishes in 3rd Place". March 29, 2020. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  10. "I'm very excited to announce we are running for Congress in 2022!". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021.
  11. Esposito, Stefano (February 2, 2020). "Ex-Chicagoan who led pizza tours making long shot bid to be first drag queen in Congress". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  12. "Green Eggs and Glam Drag Brunch! – The Lyric Hyperion". Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  13. Valenzuela, Beatriz E. (April 5, 2019). "Drag queen Maebe A. Girl running for Silver Lake Neighborhood Council". Q Voice News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  14. "Maebe A. Girl 💄 on Instagram: "I'm beyond excited to announce my candidacy for California's 28th Congressional District! We've completed all of our preliminary filings…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  15. Zonkel, Phillip (June 30, 2019). "Drag queen Maebe A Girl announces run for Congress". Q Voice News. Archived from the original on November 30, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  16. "The KNOCK.LA Los Angeles Progressive Voter Guide for the March 2020 Primary". February 10, 2020. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  17. "Endorsements". Our Revolution LA. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  18. "For Maebe A. Girl, gender nonconformity isn't her only political act". KCRW. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  19. Coleman, Emma (August 21, 2019). "The First Drag Queen Elected to Local Office Is Making a Run for Congress". Route Fifty. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  20. Congress, Maebe A. Girl for. "#voteyesonmaebe @maebeagirl". Maebe A. Girl for Congress 2020. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  21. "Maebe a Girl Facebook". Archived from the original on April 4, 2021.
  22. "iVoterGuide". Archived from the original on April 4, 2021.
  23. LA Vote: March 3, 2020 Results
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