Fred Karger, the activist behind
boycotts against big donors to California's gay marriage ban, will
announce Saturday in New Orleans that he's considering running for
president in 2012.
An announcement
released Friday by Karger says he is “seriously considering
becoming a candidate for president of the United States in 2012 as an
Independent Republican.”
Karger, who has decades of experience
managing the campaigns of Republican candidates including six
presidential candidates, says he's always wanted a shot at the White
House.
“I've always wanted to run for
office, but I was afraid before I was 'out',” Karger told On Top
Magazine in an email.
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.
The press conference is scheduled to
take place Saturday morning at 11AM in the Marlborough Room of the
Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel on Poydras Street.
The hotel is the site of the Southern
Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) 2010, the most prominent
Republican meet up outside of the Republican National Convention.
“I'm going to pound away at our
issues like no one has ever seen,” Karger said. “Feel it's time
to make this a part of our arsenal for equality.”
If he becomes a candidate, Karger would
make history as the first openly gay presidential candidate.