Former 'RuPaul's Drag Race' contestants launch PAC ahead of elections
June 27 (UPI) -- Six former RuPaul's Drag Race contestants announced Thursday the launch of the first political action committee led by drag performers.
Drag PAC is a response to rising hate, violence and legislation targeting LGBTQ people, the PAC's founders said in a launch video.
Founding members include Jinkx Monsoon, BenDeLaCreme, Peppermint and Monét X Change.
"We're in the middle of something historic," Monét X Change, winner of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars Season 4, said in the video. "This is the most important election cycle for queer people's rights and freedoms in our lifetime."
Drag PAC's mission is to promote voter registration and engagement for the 2024 election year, according to the PAC's website.
Specifically, the PAC will work to mobilize Gen Z voters and Drag Race fans to show up at the polls in November, Drag PAC organizer Dylan Bulkeley-Krane told The Hill.
"Have you seen how invigorated Drag Race fans are?" Bulkeley-Krane asked. "That is our community, and it needs to be harnessed and driven in the right direction so that queer people across the country don't have to live in fear."
The PAC plans to utilize the drag queens' large social media followings and a series of lighthearted videos to inspire young LGBTQ to vote.
The group has not yet officially endorsed any political candidates. Bulkeley-Krane said "we're taking our time with that."
More than 500 anti-LGBTQ bills were filed in state legislatures this year, and 39 of them were signed into law, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
In Congress, Republicans are championing bills that would block transgender student athletes from competing in division that align with their gender identity and lift protections on transgender students implemented by the Biden administration.
"A lot of this political rhetoric does have real life effects and consequences on people of multiple marginalized identities," said Peppermint, who placed second in Season 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race.
"Each time people who are attacking the queer community come back to the table it's sharper and stronger and more impactful, and it hurts more each time," Peppermint said.
A group of drag performers met with House lawmakers earlier this week to promote the Equality Act, a bill that would make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes, as well as the Transgender Bill of Rights, which would strengthen civil protections for transgender and nonbinary people.
