Gay GOP Candidate Sues Republicans for Alleged Homophobic Defamation

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Jul 11, 2026 at 12:11 PM EDT


Reid Rasner, an openly gay Republican running for Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat, is accusing several members of his own party of spreading inaccurate, homophobic claims including labeling him a “pedophile."

The Republican House candidate has filed five lawsuits against current and former Republican legislators, one of which was settled Friday. The various lawsuits allege “defamation per se, tortious interference, emotional damage, and civil conspiracy,” a spokesperson for the law firm representing Rasner told Newsweek in a Friday email.

The lawsuits showcase some of the GOP's internal tensions over LGBTQ issues in one of the country's most conservative states. While the Trump administration has pursued policies opposed by many LGBTQ advocacy groups, particularly on transgender rights, it has also attracted a small but vocal group of gay conservatives that argue support for the president and LGBTQ identity are not mutually exclusive, such as Rasner who is a vocal backer of President Donald Trump.

“I’ve lived in Wyoming my whole life, and I know this kind of politics is beneath our state and beneath the Republican Party," Rasner told Newsweek in an email Friday about the lawsuits. "People can attack my record, my business background, or my support for President Trump, but spreading false claims to destroy my family, business, and reputation crosses a line."

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/gay-gop-candidate-sues-republicans-for-alleged-homophobic-defamation-12184093

[Shellback Squid]

1. I hope they continue to destroy themselves

[Karasu]

2. I can't even wrap my head around the mental gymnastics needed in order to be a gay Republican in fucking 2026.

[bluestarone]

3. You got that right!!

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. It's almost an oxymoron.

[mopinko]

9. there was a vid here a couple wks ago- rick wilson & stuart stevens. according to them, there's a ton of them.

and everybody knows it, and nobody cares.
sooo many of the campaign staffers, and more electeds than u wd think.

i agree it’s weird af. but there’s no 1 more twisted than a gooper.

[Karasu]

12. Statistically, there are definitely many CLOSETED gay Republicans, sure (most of whom will stay that way), but

OPENLY gay Republicans were already a ridiculously small group even pre-Trump, for obvious reasons.

People like Altman and Thiel can actually get away with it because they're billionaires and therefore all but untouchable (they have nothing to fear from the Republican base, who do nothing but lick their boots and enable them), but they're the exception.

[yardwork]

19. The closeted ones, yeah.

But this guy is openly gay and seems surprised that the Republican Party is doing... what it does.

[moonshinegnomie]

16. a former friend of mine is a bisexual republican

he's bi,kinky and supports the orange menace. i dont have anything do do with him anymore since he went full maga but i just dont understand how you can support a party that literall hates you and want to kill you

[Karasu]

18. Neither do I. I would certainly hope that he's deeply unpopular in the kink community, because the people I know

would never tolerate someone spewing that kind of bullshit.

[TommyT139]

20. An obstacle, at least in the communities I know

...is that for the het/pans (where most of the bisexual men I know hang out, at least if they want to play with women much of the time), most of them are using scene names -- pseudonyms that might be the primary identity they are known by, even by people they play with. An event might require legal ID for proof of age, but only at the door. The more organized clubs might run the name past the publicly accessible sex offenders list, which of course is imperfect, and not useful to filter out rethugs.

But it is such a taboo to ask someone's legal name that unless someone's politics are obvious, a venue, club, or recurring event is risking a lot to decline admittance to even a known rethug. If the trumper wants to threaten a lawsuit, discovery could mean every member's identity being turned over -- thus risking jobs and sometimes custody of children.

On an individual level, the whisper network (and the online version that rhymes with get life) can accomplish a lot. But a "disgruntled insider" who wants to raise a stink holds nearly all the cards, as their orange turdly leader likes to brag.

[moonshinegnomie]

21. There are a lot of people that know both

His kink name and his real name. I don’t know if he’s on that site you mentioned ( I’m familiar with it) but a lot of people I’m friends with know both of his names and his politics.

I’m always surprised at who turns out to be maga. We used to do a lot with the jimmy buffet fan club ( parottheads). But found a lot of them were hard core maga and we choose not to associate with them so we quit the club. As if Jimmy Buffett would have anything to do with MAGA

[Karasu]

22. I'm aware of most of what you said, but you raised a great point with the "unless his politics were obvious" statement.

In my experience, they generally can't help but make it obvious, but I hadn't considered the risk to the club/venue as a whole for denying him access. That's a huge problem and I couldn't blame them for not taking their chances on that.

[TommyT139]

23. I agree - most seem to be proud of it

...but there is a certain percentage that either has honed their "closet skills" to an expert degree; or -- and I count some relatives among this group -- their prejudices are disguised as "business sense." They see themselves as "rational" and the rest of us as undeserving of common respect...and undeserving of the truth.

More nuanced conversations discuss socializing (or whatever) with nondisclosing trumpers as a form of consent violation. We live in interesting times.

[oasis]

5. "I've lived in Wyoming my whole life..."

[Gaytano70]

11. So did Matthew Shepard

Until two Wyomingites beat him and tied him to a fence to die. I guess that is the Wyoming ethos Reid is referring to.

[sfdennis1]

6. BWAHAHAHA!!!

“Crosses a line”????!! ALL your party does is cross the lines of decency, integrity, honor, tolerance etc etc etc.
This Gay Leopard face-eating moment of reckoning will probably NOT end up with this unfortunate man waking up….but as “a gay”myself, these Log Cabin FAFO moments are equal parts tragic and hilarious.

[DavidDvorkin]

7. "Openly gay Republican"

Astonishing.

[purr-rat beauty]

8. Hmmmm.....a nice get rich scheme

But I'm a white cis guy so no need to fuck with it

I hope it....gets someone's attention

[Gaytano70]

10. You don't choose your sexual orientation, but you do choose your rank, stupid politics.

I have no tolerance or compassion for any of my fellow lgbtq+ folk who willfully identify as republican. It is doubly insulting and degrading now in this fascist regime! Conservative? Fine. Be conservative. But don't you fucking dare use your sexuality as a defense against the magats you choose to embrace! Fuck off, Reid. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

[electric_blue68]

13. And this is, like....a surprise to him?!

Helloooo!!!

[sarisataka]

14. "this kind of politics is beneath... the Republican Party"

[Karasu]

17. Yeah, that part is...something. There clearly isn't ANY politics beneath the Republican Party, or we wouldn't be at

where we're at. The last 10 years would've been very different if that was the case.

Also, Republicans have been calling the community "groomers" and shit for like a decade now as well, so it blows my mind that those words came out of this idiot's mouth.

Where the fuck has he been? Under a rock?

[slightlv]

15. Did he speak up just as strongly for Pete and Chastain? No? Then, sit back down til you have

everyone's rights in your sights.

[Renew Deal]

24. It's obviously not beneath the state or the party

That's why he will lose the election and win the lawsuits