Hailey Dollar, an Army veteran, mom of four… and fetishist… is seeking the GOP nomination to run for House of Delegates.

by Ken Reid

The scandal involving Republican Lieutenant Governor nominee John Reid and whether he posted sexually explicit photos on social media has pretty much subsided. Governor Glenn Youngkin, whose now-former PAC leader Matt Moran triggered the scandal, has now accepted openly gay Reid as the nominee of the GOP.

Even social conservatives who have fought against same-sex marriage and LGBTQ indoctrination rallied around Reid, although some in that camp have refused to support him, creating a problem for the Republicans who need to bring out the conservative base if they have any hopes of winning in the 2025 state elections.

The Reid controversy was grounded in the conformity-minded, knee-jerk reactions Virginia Republicans seem to have toward “nontraditional” candidates who don’t check all the boxes on the conservative/pro Trump litmus checklist.

My belief is that when Moran and Youngkin were presented with the so-called evidence of Reid’s allegedly posting sexually explicit images on social media (none of himself, mind you), they had the same visceral negative reaction typical of “traditional” Virginia Republican leaders, who are (like them) white Christian males.

Just this week, the Fairfax County Republican Committee voted on an unusual resolution to back all three statewide candidates (including Reid) for election, although the party bylaws compel each of its members to do so by default.

Some 30%, according to a Facebook post, voted “no.”

Now in the June 17 GOP primary for House of Delegates District 70 (Newport News) one of the two candidates, Hailey Louise Shupe-Dollar, has appeared in a number of racy photos, primarily as a fetish model, and has said she was once a “sex worker.”  She faces Cynthia Scaturico, 49, who is 1st vice president of the Hampton Roads Republican Women’s Club, a mother of three, grandmother of six, , and a former county supervisor in Iowa.

An anonymous posting on Facebook’s Virginia Republican Discussion Forum  by someone using the screen name “Virginia 1776”, calls out the 35-year-old Dollar, who is herself a mother of four and Army veteran, for the photos, as well as her past criticism of President Trump, the Army, and for her support of abortion, drag queen shows and Black Lives Matter.

“I know Democrats call us the devil all the time but maybe, just maybe, we don’t vote for someone who’s proud to wear that label like a badge of honor. District 70 deserves better (than) Hailey louise shupe-dollar. She’s not a Republican but she is a fraud.”

But perhaps she is just a recent convert to the GOP and conservative causes and like Reid a “nontraditional candidate” who leaves a bad taste in the mouth of traditional Virginia Republicans.   

I emailed Shupe-Dollar for comment but did receive a response in time for deadline.

Most of the liberal views Dollar posted are nearly five years old. While she lists no policy statements on her web site, Dollar attests to being a conservative and appears in photos at campaign events with GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Sears, former Gov. Jim Gilmore, U.S. Rep. Rob Wittmann, Delegate A.C. Cordoza, state Senator Danny Diggs and conservative radio show host John Fredericks.

There are risqué photos of her on social media as recent as 2024, including a visit to Montreal Fetish Weekend in 2023.  See below.

Responding to Virginia 1776, Dollar wrote:  “I do not have a Twitter. I have always supported the LGBTQ Community through advocacy, fundraising for unhoused youth, and their acceptance of performance art. The LGBTQ community suffers from some of the highest statistics of suicide and for many years I dedicated my life to the mentorship and resource referral services of providing lifesaving interventions for ANYONE in need. As a Christian woman it is in no way my place to judge anyone in their journey in life nor deny them the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…I am about transparency and accountability.”

However, she may have deleted her social media accounts, which had the screen names “goddesshdollar” and “Sweettartgrl.”   Unlike Susanna Gibson, the failed Democrat House of Delegates candidate in 2023 in the Richmond area who was discovered to have performed sex acts with her husband on Chaturbate, Dollar is not hiding much about her fetish/drag activities.

That is Dollar in the center of this photo:

Below is a social media post on her campaign page, which shows photos from the Montreal weekend, where she walked the Red Carpet:

Here is a YouTube video interview in 2021 where she discusses sexual topics and wears a hat bearing the words “Sup Sluts” and, on the back, two male unicorns with erections:

Dollar states on her web site:  “As a veteran, advocate, and human trafficking survivor, Hailey Dollar is committed to delivering real solutions for District 70, Newport News. She is a champion for lower taxes, safe communities and schools, better education, as well as veterans, law enforcement and first responder.”

She also says she is a survivor of post-traumatic stress syndrome from her years in the Army.

Dollar’s LinkedIn profile says she currently works as a Senior Brand Marketing Manager for York Pawn and Gun. Previously, she served in the U.S. Army as a combat medic and trainer and worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

A comparison of Dollar and opponent Scaturico on the issues appears in “The Daily Press” April 29 .

Whether Dollar is a serious candidate or just using this race to advance her entertainment and media career, is unclear. According to the International Movie Database (IMDB), Dollar appears in three movies  “Crawford Road” (2018), “Abduction” (2020) and “MoonDaze TV” (2011).  She also appears as a nurse in a TV commercial for ECPI University and wrote an autobiography, “A Girl Lost to the World and Found in the Art of War,” concerning “how her life has taken her from one experience to a verbally abusive household, bullying, sexual encounters, failed relationships, and the beauty that is motherhood.”

But she has raised $3,800 to Scaturico’s $1,500, according to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP).

Incumbent Democrat Del. Shelly Symonds has raised $28,000 this year.  The 70^th District has a 15.5-point Democrat advantage, according to VPAP.org.

In a Facebook video, Dollar said people have been “discouraging me from running” and that unnamed Republican officials tried to force her out of the race, equating her treatment to what Reid recently faced.

Dollar adds:  “People like us who have stepped up to serve our community, we deserve some form of respect for our personal lives, for our families and for our loved ones.”

She defended the costume she wore to a drag show and said: “A lot of the entertainers John Reid has seen, I have worked with, and have been working with them. I looked great in that costume. Being in a drag show is fun — and the drinks are great.”

In Loudoun County, where I served in elected office for 10 years, “non-traditional” candidates dominate the GOP slate for House of Delegates and School Board.

Of five House candidates in Loudoun, only two are white males (one being incumbent Delegate Geary Higgins, whom I served with on the Loudoun Board of Supervisors from 2012 to 2015). 

Two of the five are Muslims, one is Filipino.

Like LGBTQ issues, Islam is a non-starter for traditional Republicans in Virginia. Muslim outreach by the Loudoun GOP Committee has garnered its chairman, Scott Pio, a lot of scorn from traditional activists. But in a county that is dominantly Asian -– notably, Hindu and Sikh -– how can the GOP survive without such outreach? And what is it supposed to do if someone who supports LGBTQ issues steps up to the plate to run?

Republicans — this is the new Virginia. Face it.