Democratic congressional candidate Marni von Wilpert chose a San Diego nightclub known for its sexually charged branding and adult-themed events as the venue for a campaign fundraiser, drawing sharp criticism from Republicans who say the choice reveals her priorities.
Von Wilpert, a former San Diego City Council member now running for California's 48th Congressional District, scheduled the Thursday evening event at the Gossip Grill, a restaurant and nightclub that caters to the LGBTQ nightlife scene. The venue's regular programming includes events with names like "Girls, Gays and Theys Sundays" and "Cabaret Drag Brunch Pride Extravaganza," along with a partially redacted weekly event Fox News Digital identified as "Fi---r me Fridays." Its menu features items called the "Foreplay" and the "happy ending."
The National Republican Congressional Committee wasted no time framing the venue as a window into von Wilpert's broader campaign. NRCC spokesperson Christian Martinez issued a statement tying the fundraiser location directly to the candidate's policy platform.
"Out of touch Marni von Wilpert found the perfect headquarters for her radical campaign. Her perverted agenda pushes hormone treatments on kids, shuts parents out and puts sexual content in front of young children. That dangerous agenda belongs in a nightclub, not Congress."
Von Wilpert did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on her choice of venue or whether she considered the nightclub's themes appropriate for a congressional campaign.
The fundraiser venue fits a pattern. Von Wilpert, who came out as bisexual a few years ago, has made LGBTQ issues a centerpiece of both her council tenure and her congressional bid. Her campaign website lists "LGBTQ+ Rights" among her top priorities, alongside restructuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement and imposing penalties on companies with low wages.
On that website, von Wilpert pledges to push the Equality Act through Congress, a bill that would extend federal anti-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. She frames the effort in combative terms.
"In Congress, she will work to pass the Equality Act so the protections that Californians enjoy are guaranteed nationwide. She will face the attacks head-on, from bans on gender-affirming care to efforts to silence LGBTQ+ students in our schools."
That language, defending "gender-affirming care" and opposing efforts to limit LGBTQ content in schools, is precisely what the NRCC seized on. Martinez's statement accused von Wilpert of pushing "hormone treatments on kids" and putting "sexual content in front of young children," though the NRCC did not cite a specific vote or bill to support those claims.
Von Wilpert's record on these issues extends beyond campaign rhetoric. In 2023, an activist removed nearly every gender-and-orientation-related book from a public library in the San Diego-area community of Rancho Peñasquitos, threatening to keep them until the county took down a Pride display. Von Wilpert, then on the city council, led the effort to replace the removed books.
She went further. Von Wilpert pressed to expand Pride displays across all 36 San Diego public libraries, a move she cast as a stand against censorship.
In comments to The San Diego Tribune at the time, von Wilpert made her position clear:
"I'm frankly shocked by this because eliminating LGBTQ content from libraries is what you might expect in Mississippi, but never here in San Diego."
She added:
"Denying others the right to read LGBTQ-affirming books is just another way of telling LGBTQ people they don't belong, and that's dead wrong. Everyone has the right to read what they want, but absolutely no one has the right to keep others from reading books that reflect their experiences and backgrounds."
That episode cemented von Wilpert's standing with LGBTQ advocacy organizations. She has since collected endorsements from Equality California, the Equality PAC, the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, and the Human Rights Campaign. Equality California praised her as "a champion for the LGBTQ+ community," citing her defense of "inclusive library resources" and her opposition to what the group called "censorship and bigotry."
Von Wilpert's supporters see her record as principled advocacy. But holding a congressional fundraiser at a venue whose weekly calendar and menu read like an adults-only comedy set raises a straightforward question for voters in the 48th District: Is this the judgment they want representing them in Washington?
The candidate's campaign website tells voters she will fight bans on gender-affirming care for minors and oppose any limits on LGBTQ content in public schools. Her fundraiser venue hosts drag brunches and events with names too suggestive for a family newspaper to print in full. And she lists restructuring ICE, the federal agency responsible for enforcing immigration law, as a co-equal priority with LGBTQ rights.
None of this is hidden. Von Wilpert is running openly on these positions, backed by the endorsements of every major LGBTQ political organization in the country. The NRCC called the nightclub "the perfect headquarters for her radical campaign." Von Wilpert has not disputed the characterization, or responded at all.
When a candidate picks the venue, she picks the message. Voters can decide whether that message belongs in Congress.
