Fred Karger Celebrates NH Straw Poll Victory (Press Release)

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. April 5, 2011                                                                    Contact: Rina Shah                                                                                        304-237-6489                                                                                        rina@fredkarger.com Victory in New Hampshire Straw Poll There has been a tremendous amount of coverage of our upset win over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the St. Anselm College Republican Straw Poll last Thursday night.  Prospective candidates Santorum, Pawlenty and Cain had representatives and tables set up, and they and others showed videos.  But after a week of campaigning at St. Anselm's by the Karger campaign, we prevailed and beat Mitt Romney 25% to 23%.  Donald Trump had a mere 8% of the votes cast. Final Results: Fred Karger, 25%  Mitt Romney, 23%   Donald Trump, 8%  Tim Pawlenty, 7%  Ron Paul, 7%  Rudy Giuliani, 7%  Rick Santorum, 6%  Sarah Palin, 3%  Herman Cain, 2%  Gary Johnson, 2%  Mike Huckabee, 2%  Newt Gingrich, 2%  Haley Barbour, 1%  Mitch Daniels, 1%  John Bolton, 1%  Rand Paul, 1%   Other, 2% Fred speaking at the Straw Poll Our table Thursday night manned by Tyler Ford - Dartmouth Coordinator, Lee Hunter - UNH and Southern New Hampshire Coordinator, Kevin Miniter - Research Director and Matt Hammond - Campaign Intern  Below is some more of the extensive worldwide coverage we received including this story in the political blog, Gather, which talks about the significance of Thursday’s victory. For link to story, Click Here Fred Karger Beats Mitt Romney In 2012 NH Straw Poll By David Green Member since: October 17, 2006 April 01, 2011 11:00 AM EDT 1 person recommends this | comments: 2 Mitt Romney came in second place to openly gay presidential candidate Fred Karger at yesterday's Saint Anselm College Republicans Straw Poll in Manchester, NH. While straw poll results are not necessarily the best way to measure public opinion, this one is worth a closer look because it was the first time Karger's name has appeared on a 2012 election poll in New Hampshire. A similar NH GOP 2012 Straw Poll conducted in January garnered nationwide media coverage. Mitt Romney won that contest handily, but only 273 people cast votes. By contrast, a total of 322 voters participated in yesterday's straw poll, according to WMUR Political Scoop. Fred Karger's margin of victory was slim, he only beat Mitt Romney by 5 votes. Still, it was well earned victory that Karger has been working towards for months. He's visited New Hampshire 13 times over the past year, spending much much of that time campaigning on college campuses. In recent months, he's stood alongside youth fighting to defeat a GOP sponsored NH House bill that would have deprived college students of the right to vote in the communities they live in while attending school. There is a grassroots revolution underway on college campuses in New Hampshire and it is not being led by Ron Paul, who placed a distant 5th place in the Saint Anselm straw poll. RNC Brass Meet With Long Shot Karger by Steve Peoples Roll Call Staff March 22, 2011, 5:35pm For link to story, Click Here He may not be taken seriously by many voters in 2012, but long-shot GOP presidential hopeful Fred Karger caught the attention of the Republican National Committee’s top brass Tuesday. The California-based gay-rights activist, a former top political operative for three Republican presidents, visited Washington this week to become the first to file for the GOP presidential nomination. He plans to turn in his paperwork in person to the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday morning. And although the announcement will be a blip, if anything, on the national political radar, Karger said he received a warm reception during a meeting with RNC Chief of Staff Jeff Larson. “He welcomed me and said they would provide any of their facilities — obviously they have to be neutral,” Karger said, adding that his Washington-based communications director was invited to attend presidential-related RNC meetings in the future as well. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and his vice chairman joined the meeting soon after it began. “In comes Reince to shake my hand,” Karger said. “We had a great meeting. I gave him one of my T-shirts. “They rolled out the red carpet,” he continued. “I’ve been getting a lot of resistance from the establishment, particularly in Iowa. ... So to have the chairman, vice chairman and chief of staff welcome me with open arms was very gratifying.” Karger, 61, who publicly acknowledged being gay just two years ago, served as a senior campaign consultant with Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford. Please help us continue to get our message out.  It is making a difference.  Send in a contribution today by clicking on the red button below.  Thank you for your support! Fred Files for President at the FEC - March 23, 2011   First In: Fred Karger Files for President For link to story, Click Here By Eric M. Appleman March 23, 2011 -- Although several potential candidates have launched exploratory efforts, longshot Fred Karger became the first nationally known figure to file to run for President in 2012.  Karger appeared in person at the Federal Election Commission offices in downtown Washington.  He has over three decades of experience as a Republican consultant and operative, and is the first openly gay person to seek a major party's presidential nomination.  Karger launched his exploratory effort in July 2010, and has already made 12 visits to New Hampshire and six visits to Iowa. [statement]  (Below) Karger and communications director Rina Shah fill in the paperwork as filmmaker John Keitel documents the occasion. In an interview, Karger said he was very gratified by the reception he received at the Republican National Committee yesterday.  He had not been notified of an earlier meeting of candidate representatives held on March 7, but chief of staff Jeff Larson, chairman Reince Priebus and vice chairman Sharon Day were most hospitable.  Karger also said he is working on developing issue positions, starting with education reform, which he aims to present possibly within a month.  He also noted the 82-page complaint and 48-page supplemental complaint he filed against Steve Scheffler for excluding him from the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition forum on March 7; Karger said Scheffler had clearly used subjective criteria, in violation of FEC rules.  (The FEC is reviewing the matter).  Karger said he will be working to get into the upcoming debates and forums. Karger, accompanied by communications director Rina Shah and intern Matt Hammond, and trailed by filmmaker John Keitel, heads off to Kinko's and then to an interview at CBS News. Fred in the News Good Feed Blog  First to File Fenuxe Atlanta  First to File Gawker  First to File Alan Colmes Liberaland  First to File Sunshine State News  2012 Field The Tampa Gaily News  First to File Washington Post  First to File Laguna Beach Independent  First to File Variety   First to File Comedy Central  First to File LGBTQ Nation  First to File HRC Back Story   Marriage Equality WMUR TV  The Deal With Fred Karger The Daily Targum  2012 Field New Hampshire Union Leader  NHGOP Dinner Caffeinated Thoughts  First and Second Tier Queerty  Reagan Library Debate Pride Source  RNC Meeting Bilerico  NH Straw Poll Uncovered Politics   NH Straw Poll Boston Globe  NH Straw Poll Mother Jones  NH Straw Poll Daily Caller  NH Straw Poll Forbes   NH Straw Poll Old Line Elephant   NH Straw Poll New Hampshire Primary 2012  NH Straw Poll Gather   NH Straw Poll USA Today  NH Straw Poll Instinct Magazine  NH Straw Poll NPR  NH Straw Poll Conservatives for America  NH Straw Poll White House 2012 Blog  NH Straw Poll NH Insider  NH Straw Poll Race 2012 NH Straw Poll Please help us continue to get our message out.  It is making a difference.  Send in a contribution today by clicking on the red button below.  Thank you for your support!