At last....signs of some successful GOP diversity outreach

A Republican state senate candidate who supported North Carolina's ban on gay marriage once worked as a female impersonator at a gay nightclub, the Winston-Salem Journal reported Saturday. 

Real estate agent Steve Wiles, 34, went by "Mona Sinclair" when he worked at the now-closed Club Odyssey in the early 2000s, according to the club's co-owner and another former employee. Wiles' former co-workers claim he was gay at the time and was a frequent visitor at the nightclub before he began working there. 

Wiles denied that he worked as Mona Sinclair in interviews with the Winston-Salem Journal, and responded "no" when the newspaper asked whether he was gay. 

But Wiles also appears as Mona Sinclair in a cached version of the Miss Gay America website. The cached webpage said that Wiles was suspended from the organization for "conduct unbecoming to a promoter of the Miss Gay America pageant system.”
Wiles campaigned for North Carolina's constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in 2012, according to the Winston Salem-Journal.

Joe.My.God clipped this Saturday afternoon Facebook mea non culpa by Wiles:

I'm sure many of you saw my glowing recommendation in the Winston Salem Journal - I'd like to apologize to everyone because, unlike the currently appointed NC Senator in District 31, I made mistakes. My job was embarrassing - I had to have a job! Nobody died, leaving me a millionaire capable of living in North Carolina's most expensive neighborhood. One thing I will say, I learned from my mistakes - the Republican party, under the leadership of Scott Cumbie who threatened me with my past if I ran against an incumbent Republican, seem intent to fight within the party and join in the fight with every bigot and racist they can find. I understand the gay community does not share my support for the Marriage Amendment - I RESPECT THAT and am very happy to discuss my views with any of my friends in the Democrat party and gay community. Meanwhile, I regret the fact that something so trivial would cloud an otherwise decent campaign....What more could be expected though? When policy fails, attacks begin.

ANOTHER UPDATE:

 North Carolina's primary is Tuesday. Wiles has deleted yesterday's Facebook post in which declared that he'd only become a drag queen because he "needed a job."