"I have been shouting to the rooftops," the former Bachelorette star said of advocating for Mike Johnson to become the next Bachelor

Rachel Lindsay is on a mission to make Mike Johnson become the first African American bachelor.

The fan-favorite contestant, who won America’s heart while appearing on Hannah Brown’s most recent season of The Bachelorette, is now a contender for the coveted Bachelor spot — with Lindsay pulling for him as his biggest advocate.

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“I’m a huge proponent for Mike to be the next Bachelor,” Lindsay, 34, told PEOPLE. “I say it anytime I get a platform to talk about it. I just feel like they haven’t had a person of color, well, they had Juan Pablo — they never had a black male lead before.”

Lindsay — who made history as the first black Bachelorette in the Bachelor franchise and found love with her now-fiancé, Bryan Abasolo — openly addressed the franchise’s lack of diversity but said she hopes the show will embrace the opportunity to make a change.

“I get that in Bachelor Nation, usually people of color don’t fare as well … people relate to who look like them, and the audience — it’s not diverse. That’s just a fact. But I think that it would be a wrong decision to not pick Mike,” she said. “I have been shouting to the rooftops. I’ve been talking to executives. And he’s from Texas, for goodness’ sake!”

The Texas native went on to say that Johnson is essentially the perfect, All-American package.

“I know personally, just from talking to production, it’s hard to get a really, really good candidate, but here you are faced with a candidate who is attractive, who is a fan favorite, well-spoken, served for our country, has a good story, loves the women in his family,” Lindsay explained. “His opening package had to do with his grandmother and his mother.”

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Image zoom Craig Sjodin/ ABC; Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images

And Lindsay wasn’t the only one smitten by Johnson’s TV charm.

Singer Demi Lovato was vocal about her interest in Johnson since the very beginning, calling him out as her pick as she watched an early season episode.

“He should win,” the star could be heard saying in an Instagram Story as Johnson called out season villain, Luke Parker, for saying he loved Brown on their first group date.

When Brown sent Johnson home in July, Lovato excitedly expressed her love for the Bachelorette contestant on social media.

“Swing me, kiss me! Boo boo,” Lovato, 26, can be heard saying in one of her Instagram Stories while watching Johnson make his exit from the show. In another Story, she added, “Mike I accept your rose.”

The “Sorry Not Sorry” singer’s love for Johnson was just another example Lindsay used to further prove that the portfolio manager is the ideal Bachelor candidate.

“Even Demi Lovato is trying to shoot her shot with him,” she said. “I do not understand why you would not make this man the next Bachelor.”

Lindsay went on to add that a friend of hers from Texas, who grew up with the Bachelor contender, also approved Johnson’s qualities and agreed that it was his time to hand out the roses.

“So, I’m not just speaking about Mike from watching him on TV,” she explained. “I’m talking about somebody I trust who can speak about Mike in a positive way, who knew him growing up. So I just think he should be the Bachelor. It’s time to shake things up!”

And while Lindsay is working to help Mike make history, she is also busy getting ready for her upcoming nuptials.

The reality star recently opened up to PEOPLE about why she and Abasolo decided against having a televised wedding special.

“I think our season was really the first time where you realize a wedding isn’t always guaranteed,” Lindsay told PEOPLE. “I even thought, the next step was you get engaged and you’re offered this TV wedding.”

“So when you come off the show and you’re in that TV mode — I wanted a TV wedding. I 100 percent did,” she admitted. “Then, as we got to know each other in the real world and things became normalized, and then I started hearing horror stories about these TV weddings, I am very thankful that we don’t have one and that we’re doing it on our own.”

She added: “I also think that it shows to the world or Bachelor Nation that what we have is more real.”

Lindsay offered Abasolo her last rose and accepted his ring on The Bachelorette season 13 finale. Two years later, the couple, who live together in Miami, is getting ready to marry in a private, destination wedding this month.

“We don’t need TV. We don’t need to get paid. We don’t buy a network, we’re doing this because this is what we want to do. I think it has more meaning,” Lindsay said of her and Abasolo’s decision to skip out on the TV opportunity.

RELATED VIDEO: Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay on Why She Chose Bryan Abasolo: ‘He is perfect for me’

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Image zoom Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo at The Knot event Asher Gardner

And to kick off the festivities in honor of their big day, the pair recently showcased their love and registry at The Knot‘s Registry House in Southhampton, New York.

The pre-wedding event, which was equipped with Lindsay and Abasolo’s top registry items, allowed guests to check out the selections from the couple’s registry as well as partake in activities such as jewelry and scent making, poolside meditation and a cocktail class with Pernod Ricard.

Lindsay even mentioned how one of her registry selections — the Vitamix Explorian E310 Blender — can potentially help her prep for future motherhood.

“We like smoothies and we like to juice, but the Vitamix takes things to a whole other level, and then as I just learned, a lot of mothers puree food with the Vitamix, so I do want kids,” she shared. “That’s in the very near future, you know? God willing, everything works out okay, so this is just another thing we can use for that as well.”

In addition to The Knot’s Southhampton soiree, the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. celebrated their impending wedding in June with a romantic engagement photo shoot in New York City. The pre-wedding photos came just weeks after they picked out wedding bands together during a trip to visit jeweler Neil Lane, who also designed Lindsay’s 3-carat engagement ring.

“I knew which ring I wanted the second Neil took out the display,” Abasolo told PEOPLE. “It just stuck out right away and I immediately went with my gut. On the other hand, Rachel wanted to try on every ring in the store!”

Lindsay also shared with PEOPLE that she’s “excited” to call Abasolo her husband and is counting down the days until the two are married.