US: candidate locked out of debate
Openly gay Republican Presidential hopeful Fred Karger has been refused a place in a crucial televised debate by US conservative cable network Fox News.
Fox News is seen in the US as a key platform for candidates in the upcoming Iowa Republican Primary vote.
The outraged Karger campaign said that despite meeting all of the network’s requirements by polling at an average of 1 percent popularity in five national opinion polls, Fox News declined Karger’s request to take part in the debate. Independent polling has put Karger at near even with other Republican candidates, including Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and former US ambassador John Hunstman, who will take part in the debate.
Karger said his campaign team had written to Fox News Senior VP Michael Clemente twice and, “provided all the evidence which would absolutely allow me a place on that stage … We have earned it.”
Although many have written him off as a serious candidate, Karger has been a strong voice for LGBTI equality inside the Republican Party as a supporter of same-sex marriage. The debate snub has come as surprise to
Karger, who has been touting his Republican credentials, having been a senior political consultant on the presidential campaigns of US presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and George Bush Snr.
