Peter Boykin isn’t the stereotypical conservative candidate for political office. The Mebane resident does hold a lot of the same right-leaning beliefs as other Republican candidates; he stands for the “extreme reduction of abortion,” is in favor of an immigration moratorium and is staunchly pro-gun.
However, as many Republicans have aligned themselves with a widespread anti-LGBTQ+ movement, Boykin has found himself frustrated by the direction the conservative movement is heading.
“All these organizations were okay with gays and stuff like that, but now, it’s all anti-gay stuff,” he said. “Like, what the hell?”
Now, Boykin is making a run to become North Carolina’s lieutenant governor in 2024, but he’s taking a different route than his peers. Instead of spewing hateful rhetoric at the LGBTQ+ community, Boykin said he wants to leave the name calling out and focus on what he calls “real issues.” He criticized the North Carolina General Assembly for prioritizing passing three anti-LGBTQ+ laws over the summer instead of focusing on passing a state budget.
“The Parents’ Bill of Rights is a bunch of bullsh*t,” Boykin said. “It boils down to this: ‘You have the right to your child except for if we don’t like the way you raise your child.’”
Boykin — who is openly gay — runs his own blog called “Go Right News,” where he writes about current events and gives monologues on hot button issues happening in conservative politics. Boykin was also the founder of Gays for Trump, which was created for LGBTQ+ voters who supported former president Donald Trump.
LGBTQ+ people played an integral role in the 2020 election, with 81 percent of LGBTQ+ voters voting for President Joe Biden and 14 percent voting for Trump. According to a story carried in Newsweek, a survey conducted by the gay social network Hornet prior to the election showed that out of the 14 percent of Trump LGBTQ+ voters, 45 percent of the gay men surveyed said they planned to vote for Trump. It remains unclear if the end result was what Hornet predicted,
Regardless of possible past LGBTQ+ support for Trump and the GOP, Boykin believes it is important to sound the alarm on the Republican Party’s increasing attacks on LGBTQ+ people, citing incidents like the transphobic hate campaign against trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney from right wing legislators and even attacks on his character.
“They’re trying to call me a pedophile and a groomer,” Boykin said.
In fact, Boykin has called out some of North Carolina’s most infamous homophobes, including current Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who has repeatedly likened the tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ North Carolinians to “maggots” and “filth.”
Boykin said he used to see Robinson during events for Boykin’s run for the North Carolina General Assembly, and in fact, he saw Robinson as a “political buddy” at the time.
“We talked, and he was always nice to me,” Boykin recalled. “He came to my rally when I did a rally against the March for our Lives — he came and spoke with that. We spoke afterwards, I [went] to his rally. We spoke a few times when he was running for office.”
According to Boykin, Robinson’s original campaign staff when he was running for lieutenant governor included several LGBTQ+ people and had LGBTQ+ supporters. However, all of that reportedly changed when Robinson secured the Republican nomination.
“He had gay people working for his team and a lot of gay supporters, and we were all there [at his primary event], and he was already letting the win get to his head,” Boykin said. “Instead of mingling with us, he waited to be announced like he was some kind of superstar before coming out. I haven’t spoken to him since.”
After winning the lieutenant governor seat, Boykin said that’s when he started to see the hateful side of Robinson — one where he called LGBTQ+ people evil, filth and more.
“People say stupid stuff all the time,” he explained. “But then when I saw the video of him preaching, basically saying that straights are superior and the gay people don’t produce anything good, I’m like, ‘Jesus. What the hell?’”
Boykin’s largest hurdle in the race for lieutenant governor is facing a pool of candidates who vehemently oppose his existence, including Robinson’s handpicked running mate, Allen Mashburn. Qnotes profiled Mashburn earlier this month, noting his history of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and dehumanizing tactics.
Mashburn wrote in an opinion piece for the The Tennessee Star:
“The decision to dedicate an entire month to celebrate moral degradation is a step too far … I never envisioned a day where transvestites would lecture us on human biology, or sterilizers would pose as health professionals advocating for human rights. It seems that our nation has descended into a state of utter madness, where men can now claim pregnancy and the number of genders rivals the alphabet.”
Boykin challenges the notion from Mashburn and other Republicans that the conservative movement is supposed to be a religious crusade. Rather, he said the Republican Party needs to step away from demonizing queer voters on the basis of religion and get back to dealing with “real issues.”
“I really believe in the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for all people, including for the gay community,” he said. “It isn’t supposed to be the ultra religious Republican Party that some want it to be … Republican or Democrat, I don’t care, I’m not closing my door on people who need help.”
Editor’s note: Boykin has been called out by other LGBTQ+ news organizations for previous statements he made about trans people in the military. In an article from LGBTQ Nation, Boykin said he believed President Trump’s ban on trans people in the military was a good thing, as well as saying he believed trans people shouldn’t have access to weapons.
“People already have enough problems with PTSD, I don’t think it’s a good idea to give someone going through that type of change a weapon,” he said. “They might snap and turn it on their fellow soldiers.”