KALAMAZOO —

Fred Karger wants voters to make another historic choice for president.

In 2008, he said voters elected Barack Obama as the first black president.

And in 2012, he wants to be the first openly gay president.

Karger,

spoke about his campaign for the Republican nomination.

Michigan's primary is on Tuesday and Karger is spending all his time in the state.

Karger, now a political consultant from Orange County, spent most of his professional life working in Republican politics. He has served as a senior consultant on the campaigns for former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush.

While he has supported Democrats in the past (he said he was a "maxed-out donor" for Hillary Clinton) he said he is a Republican because he believes in smaller government.

But the current trends of the party doesn't define him -- he is pro-choice. On gay rights, Karger said he is disappointed in the Republican candidates.

"It's very difficult for me to call myself a Republican" because of the candidates' views on gay rights, he said.

Romney, he said, "is a disappointment" because he held more moderate views on gay rights. Rick Santorum, a vocal opponent of gay rights, is damaging the entire party.

"He is driving hundreds of thousands if not millions of people from the Republican party," Karger said. "He is doing tremendous damage to get elected."

Karger said he is running because he grew concerned about the direction the country was taking under President Obama as well as the field of Republican candidates.

He said he wants to bring back the "big tent" inclusiveness of the party he said existed when he was working.

But there is also the historic aspect of running as the first openly gay Republican. He said he saw a reaction from students when they heard that a gay man could run for president of the United States

"I know as I was inspired by others when I was in my formative years, there weren't too many role models who were openly gay," he said.

One of those is former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, who ran for president in 1972. As the first black woman to run, she didn't win or gain much support, but set the precedent of what blacks could do, leading to Jesse Jackson's campaign and Obama's election in 2012.

"I'm an impatient guy, but I hope if I am unsuccessful there will be another gay or lesbian who runs for president and is successful long before 36 years from now," Karger said.

But there is a game plan in Michigan. Here, he is focusing on the

. If he wins, he would pick up its three delegates.

He said many supporters said they never had, or ever imagined, supporting a Republican candidate.

Fritz Klug is a government and taxes reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Contact him at fklug@mlive.com or 269-370-0584. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+



