‘Tan Mom’ Patricia Krentcil supports drag queens in first campaign ad of Senate run
“Tan Mom” Patricia Krentcil has released a campaign ad for her Senate run in Florida — hoping to shed her shady moniker and laying out her qualifications as a drag queen-supporting “compassionate conservative.”
Krentcil, who went viral in 2012 for taking her 5-year-old daughter into a New Jersey tanning salon, now lives in Boca Raton, where she has filed paperwork to challenge GOP Sen. Rick Scott in the 2024 elections.
“Hi, I’m Patricia. I’m a single working mom with five beautiful kids. And I love my family just like you,” the blond 55-year-old says in the 2-minute spot.
“You might remember me being that ‘Tan Mom’ from New Jersey, but that was a decade ago,” she says, wearing pink lipstick, large glasses, a black dress and a beaded necklace.
“Crazy tans, table flippings … it was an interesting time, but like the world we live in, I’ve changed greatly. I lost my husband last year to cancer, and I know what it’s like to deal with insurance companies,” Krentcil continues.
Krentcil does not shy away from her notorious tan and medical issues.
“I was in a medically induced coma for two weeks. So I know what it’s like to deal with doctors and nurses and how very overwhelming health care can be,” she says.
Noting that she was made a “mockery” by the press over her appearance, she says she knows “what it’s like to be targeted for being different — that’s why I am running for US Senate.”
Krentcil also gives a nod to LGBTQ+ rights as she speaks out against Florida’s failed drag ban and censorship in schools.
“Most people don’t find Shakespeare and ‘Sesame Street’ offensive,” she says. “I also believe drag queens can be amazing role models for kids.”
To those who question her qualifications, Krentcil cites her five children as her “resume” because they are “dealing with all these issues.”
“Somebody called me a compassionate conservative. Do you know what? They’re right,” she adds.
Krentcil’s Senate bid comes as she stars in a TV docuseries, “Tan to 10,” which follows her attempts to quit tanning and alter her life.
The infamous tanner was charged with child endangerment in 2012 for allegedly exposing her daughter Anna to artificial UV rays in a Nutley salon — but a grand jury declined to indict her and she kept custody of the girl.
In 2013, she checked herself into rehab for alcohol abuse — then in 2019, the heavy smoker was hospitalized for pneumonia and placed in a medically induced coma.
She had suffered cardiac arrest and also was diagnosed with pancreatitis and an infection that spread to her lungs.
“My whole body died — I was proclaimed dead. It was so sad,” she told The Post at the time.
