Fred Karger, Gay GOP Presidential Candidate, Left N.H. in Bachmann-Burner Overdrive

​Fred Karger's goal heading into the New Hampshire presidential primary was to better a major candidate who campaigned against gay marriage, something the GOP insider accomplished by beating Michelle Bachmann by 137 votes. Of course, Bachmann had dropped out of the race before the N.H. primary, but when you are a gay presidential candidate in the Grand Old Party, you'll take your victories where you can score them.

The Weekly's June 2 cover boy is now back home in Laguna Beach; insert your own joke about Karger and Bachmann returning to the arms of gay men.
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A former Republican hatchet man who is now trying to change his party from the inside, Karger knows to skip the South Carolina primary. No use getting strung up on a tree by Christian fundamentalists if you can avoid it. But after a rest it's on to Michigan, which holds its primary at the end of February.

He's under no delusions about finishing up there with the Romneys and Pauls, considering their millions in campaign contributions and staffs of hundreds in the battleground states, compared with Karger's nickle-and-dime operation with six staffers working mostly out of their homes. But he does hope to at least make some noise.

"I finished eighth with just a fraction of the money spent by the other candidates," he told the Los Angeles Times post-New Hampshire. "It was my first election, and the bar I set for myself was to beat Santorum or Bachmann."

Hmmm, Santorum. Wonder if there's a joke in this post for him, too? Ah, well, no use backing into something stinky and frothy to add to the conversation at this point. There will be plenty of time for that since, as Karger reportedly puts it to the Times, "I'm the little engine that could. I want to stay in [the race] as long as possible."

Previous coverage:

• In Fred Karger's Presidential Run, GOP Stands for Gay Old Party

• Fred Karger Delights OC Crowd in Presidential Bid

• OC Gay Republican Dreams of Beating President Barack Obama