A female Republican candidate is being called out for a racy campaign ad that she shared and the video has even cost her an endorsement.
Sarah Stogner, 37, a candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner is receiving heavy backlash for her controversial ad, which shows her sitting semi-nude atop an oil rig.
The video, which features a scantily clad Stogner, asks viewers to vote early ahead of the March 1st primary. In the background, a brief snuppet of “Apache” by the SugarHill Gang can be heard playing.
“They said I needed money. I have other assets,” the video’s caption read.
Stogner, who has over 15 years of experience as an oil and gas attorney, is challenging incumbent Wayne Christian in the race for an office that usually receives very little attention. While the title of “Railroad Commission of Texas” sounds fairly simple, the commission hasn’t actually regulated railroads since 2005. Currently, the agency oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry.
Soon after the video was posted, the San Antonio Express-News rescinded its endorsement of Stogner, calling it “disgraceful.”
“We review social media, and Stogner would never had been our pick had the video appeared before we made our recommendation,” read an editorial. “It’s painful to rescind a recommendation. But this is an opportunity to reaffirm our principles and expectations.”
In response to the backlash over her ad, Stogner has likened herself to Lady Godiva and compared the criticism to “slut-shaming.”
Responding to the news of the paper rescinding its endorsement, Stogner said that she wished the Express-News had waited to hear what she had to say prior to making that decision.
“We have radiation in our water. But me scantily clad is where the line is drawn,” Stogner said in a Facebook post.
She claims that the outrage is overshadowing the real issues she is campaigning about, though she likely should have thought of that before posting the video. If you want people to take you seriously, nudity isn’t usually the way to go about it.
“I want to put my clothes back on and have a serious conversation,” Stogner told KENS 5 following the backlash. “I want to talk about groundwater. I want to talk about flaring. I want to talk about winterizing our infrastructure pipelines. But that’s boring. It doesn’t get clickbait.”
Speaking with Fox News, Stogner said that her controversial video has opened opportunities for her to discuss the “real” issues about her campaign.
“The video is being perceived just as I desired, a knock on the door and now that door is open,” she said. “It has allowed me to engage folks who appreciated my passion and concerns.”
WATCH:
They said I needed money. 🤣 I have other assets. pic.twitter.com/OI9z9EDRRG
— Sarah Stogner (@Sarah4RRC) February 14, 2022
According to reporting from Fox News, “Commissioners faced renewed scrutiny after a wave of power outages across the state last year amid an unprecedented winter storm.”
