Midwest politics aren’t for the weak, and one Indiana political candidate, Jaime West, went viral for sort of proving that during a televised forum. West appeared during the Q&A ready to share her plans and thoughts on serving Fayetteville county as a Democratic member. But what people saw was something straight out of Saturday Night Live.
In the YouTube video of the 2026 General Election Candidates Forum, West appears at the roundtable looking extremely relaxed. Those who watched it live assumed she must be drunk, and later, she did open up about the incident on Piers Morgan Uncensored. Perhaps it was West’s answer to a question about what her most unpopular decision might be, should she be selected to office. And the Democratic hopeful went in hard on Republicans. Oops.
An Indiana county council candidate went viral for drinking before an interview.
West’s portion of the forum opened up with her admitting she didn’t write an opening statement. Instead, she introduces herself and goes into why she should be elected. She also seemed near tears when she talked about potentially losing a local firehouse if a Democrat isn’t elected, but then her demeanor shifted again.
During the televised local forum, West said that she would “fire all Republicans” if given the chance. She added, “I wouldn’t let them. I mean, I don’t even talk to them. I don’t like them.” She also said “we have guns too” when she claimed that the local sheriff’s nephew threatened her with gun violence.
And, she bizarrely added, “I deliver a lot of groceries and packages for my community. So if you trust me, you know, delivering your groceries, you should trust me with your vote.”
She did bring up some decent points about “infrastructure” and fixing the local roads in her county. But all the while, her words seemed to slur a bit. And it was hard for some to take her seriously, especially in the YouTube comments.
“This is way more funny than anything Saturday Night Live has ever done!” One person commented.
Another joked, “She will fight to keep all bars open.”
She later admitted to having a few drinks before the televised forum.
When West appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored, she admitted to drinking before the forum. Without political experience prior to her bid for a spot on the county counsel, West is a newbie in the race, and that seems to explain her behavior before and during the forum.
“I was nervous! I was going into a room full of Republicans,” West said on Piers Morgan Uncensored. She also admitted, after prompting from Piers Morgan, that she did have three beers before she went on-air. However, she claimed, she was not drunk during the televised local interview.
She also reiterated her stance on Republicans…all of them.
“I say it all the time, I’m not friends with [Republicans]. I don’t like them,” West said. “They voted for all of this that’s happening to our country.”
The candidate might have actually gained some votes.
It’s entirely possible that West’s beer-gate during her political campaign might have actually gained her some local voters. In the comments under an Instagram clip from the interview, some users agreed that they would vote for someone like West over a Republican, simply because of her views, regardless of the beer involved.
“I’d rather have a tipsy Democratic candidate in office than a sober Republican candidate any day,” one person wrote.
Another user commented, “How can I cast an absentee ballot for this extremely qualified candidate Jaime West? I don’t live there but who cares. I identify with her platform.”
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