Fred Karger officially ends 2012 presidential campaign

June 30, 2012

Proclaiming that the, political consultant Fred Karger of California officially ended his campaign for on Friday, three days after a last place finish in the Utah. Karger was the first openly gay individual to seek the presidential nomination of a major U.S. political party, and accumulated a total of 12,609 votes in six primary elections.

Karger, who served as a political adviser for several Republican presidents before actively campaigning for LGBT causes, had started his presidential campaign in 2010, but did not officially announce until last year. Throughout 2011, he attempted to appear in, but was unable to meet the polling threshold for any; he believed he had qualified for an August debate, but was denied entry after organizers deemed his cited polls as inadequate.

In 2012, Karger appeared on the primary ballots in, , , , , and Utah. He had his strongest showing in Puerto Rico, edging Congressman Ron Paul in votes and claiming over one percent of the total. He received his largest vote total in his home state of California, winning 8,268. In the June 26 Utah primary, the final contest before the, Karger finished in fifth place with 0.25 percent, behind former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Senator Rick Santorum, Paul, and former Massachusetts Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee who won with 93 percent of the vote.

In his withdrawal announcement, Karger thanked his supporters and reflected on the campaign as "the experience of a lifetime." He expressed hope that his effort had positively influenced political discourse on the economy, education, LGBT rights, and other issues. He now plans to "rest up for awhile" before getting "back at it to help in the fight for LGBT equality."

Karger did not endorse another candidate for the presidency, and had previously told Wikinews that he had no plans to endorse anyone at the conclusion of his campaign.