Openly gay presidential hopeful Fred
Karger released his first advertisement this week.
Karger, the activist behind boycotts
against big donors to California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8,
announced he's considering a 2012 presidential bid as an independent
Republican in New Orleans during the annual Southern Republican
Leadership Conference (SRLC) 2010, the most prominent Republican meet
up outside of the Republican National Convention.
The 60-second spot titled Good
Morning New Hampshire asks voters to support his candidacy and is
already running in six markets, including Manchester, Nashua,
Concord, Keene, Claremont and Seacoast. The
spot was uploaded to Karger's YouTube channel on Wednesday.
The
GOP-adviser-turned-gay-rights-activist-turned-candidate tells a
little about himself in the video, which features Karger stumping in
the state over the past four months.
“I'm hoping New Hampshire will get to
know a little bit about me through this short video,” Karger said.
“I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time in the Granite State
over the next year and a half. I've just started house and car
hunting, and we have a lot of exciting things planned.”
Karger founded Californians Against
Hate in 2008. The group has led boycotts against major donors to
California's anti-gay marriage initiative, Proposition 8. He's also
targeted the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation's
most vociferous opponent of gay marriage, and the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), filing formal complaints
with state election officials in California and Maine against both
groups.
Previously, he managed the campaigns of
various Republicans, including six presidential candidates.
If he becomes a candidate, Karger would
make history as the first openly gay presidential candidate.