Fred Karger’s Underdog Campaign: Small Budget, Big Headlines

Margarita town halls. An anti-gay email that made national news. A presidential campaign with no headquarters. Fred Karger’s run through Iowa was anything but typical, and that was the point. Karger, the first openly gay Republican to run for president, joins Matthew Breen to talk about his 2012 campaign and how a long shot got noticed in a crowded field. New Hampshire was his priority, so why did he keep coming back to Iowa? He explains his crash course in the caucuses and how he turned every campaign stop into press and supporters, aided by strategically-deployed margaritas. He also revisits the email from Iowa GOP leader Steve Scheffler that put his campaign in the national conversation and landed him repeated spots on conservative talk radio. Other stories: the Iowa State Fair, a meeting with RNC chair Reince Priebus, and a viral clash with Michele Bachmann. Behind the headlines was a virtual team, hard fundraising lessons, and a low-budget TV ad (and numbers mixup) that got Karger into The New York Times. He also talks about hiring Iowa state director Nathan Treloar. A candid look at LGBTQ political history, Republican primary politics, and what it takes to run for president when most people are asking, “Fred who?” For more about Fred go to fredkarger.com Follow him @fredkarger