Ohio
Meet the libertarian drag queen running for Congress in northwest Ohio
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It started with a Facebook post.
David Gedert − also known as the drag queen Sugar Vermonte − criticized Republican state Rep. Josh Williams on the page for his Toledo food truck, Maybe Cheese Born With It. Williams, who is running for Congress in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, has sponsored legislation to criminalize certain drag performances.
The Lucas County Libertarian Party responded, “SUGAR FOR CONGRESS!” And a campaign was born.
Gedert announced that he’s running as a libertarian in the 9th District, which includes Toledo and swaths of northwest Ohio. Current Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest serving woman in Congress, faces an uphill battle after lawmakers made the district more Republican in the latest round of redistricting.
Williams, former state Rep. Derek Merrin and Air Force veteran Alea Nadeem will face off in the GOP primary in May.
“The two-party system that pretends to work for us is ridiculous,” Gedert told the statehouse bureau. “We have to stop pretending that it’s working. We all recognize that it’s broken in one way or another, but someone has to stand up.”
Who is David Gedert, a.k.a. Sugar Vermonte?
Gedert grew up in a Detroit suburb, but he moved to Toledo at age 17 after both of his parents died. His resume includes a bit of everything: drag queen, Realtor, McDonald’s corporate manager and paraeducator for children with autism.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Gedert said, he bought a camper and some pink paint and opened Maybe Cheese Born With It. He then landed on the Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race and took second place.
Gedert said he’s always been politically engaged and evolved from a registered Democrat to independent. When the Libertarian Party contacted him about a bid for Congress, he reviewed the platform and said it aligns with much of what he believes.
Gedert also said the people of northwest Ohio deserve a better candidate for Congress, even though he respects Kaptur and her service.
“She came up in politics in an absolutely different world than the one we live in now,” Gedert said. “I think it is absolutely time for a fresh vision and someone who can really speak to the issues we are facing right now.”
Gedert doesn’t think that person is Williams, who reintroduced a bill last year that would restrict drag performances deemed “obscene” to adult-only clubs and bars. As Sugar Vermonte, Gedert has hosted Dolly Parton brunches to raise money for Blood Cancer United and contends Williams’ bill is “ridiculous.”
“Bless his heart,” he said of Williams − with a tinge of sarcasm.
Representatives for Kaptur and Williams did not respond to requests for comment.
This isn’t the first time a libertarian has run in the 9th Congressional District. Business owner Tom Pruss received more than 15,000 votes in the 2024 election that Kaptur narrowly won. The outcome raised questions about whether Pruss siphoned votes from Merrin, who lost to Kaptur by nearly 2,400 votes, according to the Ohio secretary of state’s office.
To Gedert, 2024 showed that 15,000 people in northwest Ohio wanted something different from their elected officials.
“If the two-party system doesn’t like it, too bad buttercup,” Gedert said. “You don’t always get what you like.”
State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at hbemiller@usatodayco.com or @haleybemiller on X.
A Kentucky woman who had been missing for more than two weeks was found dead in her vehicle in Ohio, authorities said.
The body of Debra Wireman was found in her vehicle on July 3 in Clermont County, Ohio, the Flemingsburg Police Department in Kentucky said on Facebook on Wednesday. Investigators were called to the scene after a report identifying the vehicle as belonging to a missing person, police said. The remains were identified as Wireman’s by the Clermont County Coroner’s Office on July 7, according to law enforcement.
Police in Kentucky said the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio is investigating the woman’s death. No additional information will be released by Flemingsburg police “out of respect for Debra’s family and the integrity of that investigation.”
“While this is not the outcome any of us hoped and prayed for, we are thankful that Debra has been found and that her family can now begin to receive the closure they deserve,” police added on Facebook.
Wireman, according to police, was last seen on June 17 at around 4:30 p.m. in Aberdeen, Ohio, while traveling toward Maysville, Kentucky. She was driving a white 2020 Kia Forte with front-end damage. Police said family and friends were “concerned for her welfare.”
“The overwhelming response from our community, neighboring agencies, the media, and countless individuals across the region demonstrated the very best of people coming together in the hope of bringing someone home safely,” Flemingsburg police said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Central Ohio has a new option for late-night sweets.
Jeff’s Donuts opened its first Ohio location Wednesday morning at 5717 N. Hamilton Road, between Gahanna and New Albany.
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The shop will be open 24 hours.
Sixteen ‘almost feral’ children. Aged 18 months to 18 years. Hidden from sight in an Ohio house of horrors.
Until now.
It’s a situation difficult to fathom: Investigators found 16 kids living inside a 1,300-square-foot home in Vinton County, Ohio, confined in a 12-by-12 bedroom investigators say was covered in human waste. Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Sr., and Christina Siders were arrested on Tuesday, June 30th, and remain in jail after waiving their preliminary hearings today, Tuesday, July 7th.
Investigative reporter Anne Emerson goes beyond the headlines to understand the human impact in the developing Siders child abuse case. How did children live under these conditions for so long? We wanted to hear from the local community affected by this horrific story.
In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, we hear from those voices – from Captain Jeremiah Griffith who was a first responder to the shocking scene, to local Vinton County Pastor James Dimel who describes the community’s support of children who were trapped in a ‘den of evil’. Law enforcement and locals share their shock at the horror lurking in their own community. And Attorney Thomas Stolly, who represents Elizabeth Siders, says the case is more complicated than many believe, urging the public to remember that his client is presumed innocent.
Today, we react in real time to what we know so far in this developing story, and offer multiple perspectives of those closest to this case.
Subscribe to Criminally Obsessed for continuing coverage of the Siders investigation, true crime updates, courtroom developments, and exclusive interviews with the real people impacted by these cases.
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