![]() Ultimately, she lost to her Republican opponent, David Owen, by about 2 percentage points, a narrower margin than some had expected. She hit about 100 a day for two months, she said. Gibson temporarily stopped seeing patients at the clinic where she worked and focused instead on knocking on doors. “I was personally really amazed by the way she persevered,” said Han Jones, political director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. Gibson's campaign staffers stood by her, friends flew in from around the country to comfort her and over 2,000 new donors contributed to her campaign in the immediate aftermath, she said.Ībortion rights groups and a leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group continued to support her campaign. While some donors and top Democratic Party officials generally distanced themselves from the controversy, Gibson said she had plenty of support, including from one of the state's most prominent female politicians, L. Henrico police confirmed they received a report of a firearms violation in Gibson’s block and determined on the scene that there was no threat. In mid-October, someone made a false report of fatal gun violence in her home that resulted in a massive police response at a time her young children were there, Gibson said. But she added it was a choice she made “in the context of my loving marriage" and that she was not ashamed and had done nothing wrong.Įven as news coverage of the matter slowed, the harassment continued. Gibson said “of course” she regrets the part she played in allowing that to happen. “I could barely get up off the floor for about two weeks,” she said, adding that anyone reading about her account should think about how it would feel “to know that your naked body is going to be splashed all over the internet.” Her social media mentions are still replete with criticism and slurs. Journalists loitered outside her home for days, unfamiliar vehicles lingered in the street and death threats landed in her mailbox, she said. But what she went through in the immediate aftermath of the disclosures, she said, “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy." Gibson said she “never once” thought of dropping out of the race. She won a competitive June primary and centered her message to voters on protecting abortion rights as the state's Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, pledged to enact stricter limits. Wade decision guaranteeing a constitutional right to an abortion was overturned last year. She noted that tokens are of nominal value and said she never made money from engaging on the platform.Ī nurse practitioner with degrees from the University of Virginia and Columbia University, Gibson said she decided to run for office after the Roe v. Many outlets that covered the story focused on the fact that Gibson sought tips in the form of tokens, which the site says can be converted to cash, in return for carrying out specific sex acts. He called the behavior disqualifying for public office. Ken Nunnenkamp, executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia, said he didn't think it was the consenting sex that voters took issue with but rather the fact it was streamed online. What is not newsworthy is someone’s consensual sex life within the confines of their marriage or with any partner.” “What is newsworthy is abortion rights are on the line in Virginia,” she said. Gibson, who maintains that nothing about her use of the streaming platform had any bearing on her qualifications to hold public office, said sex between consenting adults should never merit a news story. The law makes it a crime to "maliciously" disseminate nude or sexual images of another person with the intent to "coerce, harass, or intimidate." Virginia voters do not register by party.Daniel Watkins, an attorney for Gibson who specializes in defamation cases, has said the dissemination of the videos was a violation of Virginia's revenge porn law. ![]() The nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project rated it the third most competitive of Virginia’s 100 House of Delegates districts, with only a very slight lean toward Republicans, based on recent voting patterns. The 57th District includes parts of Richmond’s western suburbs in Henrico and Goochland counties. Gibson answered the GOP attacks to some extent Monday in an op-ed piece for the left-leaning website Blue Virginia, labeling her GOP attackers as “politicians who feel they have a right to know what goes on in our private lives and the power to control what we do with our bodies.” Owen, a residential developer, ran a campaign similar to those of Republicans across the state, focusing on parental rights in education, lower taxes and crime. The envelopes warned recipients that explicit materials were contained inside and that minors should not open the envelope. The Republican Party of Virginia sent mailers out to voters that contained screenshots. In the weeks before Election Day, Republicans had sought to remind voters of Gibson’s videos.
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