A Florida Democratic candidate for Congress is calling on her Republican opponent to condemn anti-LGBTQ+ attacks after members of a Young Republicans group mocked her by comparing her to transgender actress and activist Dylan Mulvaney. The controversy began when Jennifer Jenkins promoted a town hall on Facebook.
The Space Coast Young Republicans responded in the comments with a single image of Mulvaney. Former North Carolina congressional candidate Austin Ayers later shared a similar post, writing, “Jennifer Jenkins For Florida is CANCELLING her bid for Congress to pursue other career choices!” alongside another image of Mulvaney. Jenkins, who is cisgender, responded by accusing Republicans of avoiding issues that matter to voters.
Jenkins posted, “Imagine being so desperate to defend Mike Haridopolos that your big political strategy is… calling an opponent ‘Dylan Mulvaney.’ That’s it? That’s the joke?” She argued the campaign should focus on housing and health care instead of “just the same tired obsession with transgender people that Republicans drag out whenever they don’t want to talk about their record.”
