Openly gay Republican announces Senate bid

By Anna Giaritelli, Anna Giaritelli

Published December 20, 2015

Chrys Kefalas, an openly gay Republican, announced Tuesday he is running for the seat Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., will vacate next year.

The 36-year-old candidate shared his intentions with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren, noting his work in the Obama administration and present employment as vice president for the National Association of Manufacturers. He said he was motivated to run after Md. Gov. Larry Hogan won last year's state election.

Kefalas first made news in mid-November when he and local radio host Tommy McFly announced their engagement to the public after six months of keeping the secret, saying they did not want the news to interfere with his launching a Senate bid exploratory committee or his partner's on-air image.