Dragging out the vote for the Harris-Waltz campaign, one queen at a time.

It’s not every day that the Statue of Liberty and Miss USA descend on the Hennepin County Government Center. But on Saturday, they were among the drag queens and kings who led community members down Hennepin Avenue to vote early after holding a drag show to support Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

“Get Out the Vote: Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” is a mobilization event organized by drag queens Lady Lorde and The Other Jeannie Rethel. Several drag queens performed at The Saloon, a gay bar that often hosts drag performances, before patrons headed to Government Center to cast their votes for Harris and Tim Walz.

Most of the performances leaned heavily on political themes, from a tense Donald Trump to Madam President pouring her heart out over a power ballad.

“To me, drag is inherently political,” said Spencer Rethel, aka The Other Jeanie Rethel. Bring me news. “It’s one of those things where yes, it’s an art form, but it’s an expression of queer and trans bodies, so it’s a very specific cultural thing in our community.”

This is the second time Lady Lorde and Jacob Thomas have hosted this event. He got the idea to get more people to the polls in 2018 while working for the Minnesota LGBTQ organization Out Front.

“This was a pivotal election year and we came out as LGBTQ people, so we wanted to do it again this year before this election and make it very clear that we support Harris and Walz,” Thomas said.

“It’s incredibly important for us to get everyone out to vote, especially LGBTQ people and young people, because we’re seeing anti-trans bills being introduced in state legislatures across the country, and the national Republican candidate is determined to attack trans people.”

Thomas, an Air Force veteran, was stationed at Grand Forest Air Force Base in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and spoke about how Trump’s comments and actions not only towards the LGBT community, but also towards veterans, were extremely harmful.

“Donald Trump is calling veterans like me and the friends I served with. “suckers and losers” and his generals said he was a fascist who would like to be a dictator and was unfit for the job,” Thomas said.

This was in reference to comments by Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly and his former top military adviser General Mark Milley. reported this weekwhich also happened this week when Trump once again promised to prosecute or punish their political opponents if elected.

“We need everyone to stand up to this fascist rhetoric, stand up to the hate and anger and say that America truly is for everyone,” Thomas continued. “This is the promise we signed up for as veterans, and we went and fought to make the promise of America truly mean to everyone.”

Among those present and speaking at the event was Minnesota Sen. Scott Dibble, who addressed young voters who may be tempted to vote for a third party because of Harris’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian war. Dibble admitted that he supports voting for a third party, but our current system of government does not give third-party candidates a chance to win.

“I would really encourage those who are tempted to vote for a third party, where we don’t have a parliamentary system or a ranked-choice voting system, to go and work on these electoral reforms,” ​​Dibble said.

“The moral duty of an idealist is to live in such a way that your ideals are realized. Take a close look and analyze what will help you move closer to these ideals.”

“There’s so much at stake,” Rethel said. “Not just funny moments like drag, but trans identities, so many bodies are in real danger that it’s important to me to be a part of anything that gets at least one extra voice.”

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