When C.J. Green saw the apparently homeless stranger trudging up Georgia state Route 17, bowed by the weight of his rucksack, he thought, “He’s heading toward Midville.”
On his way to work later, Mr. Green, Midville’s chief of police, spotted and hailed the backpacker and listened to his story. Shirtless but not really homeless, 30-something National Guard member Ken Yasger was walking from his home near Tybee Island, Georgia, to Atlanta. It was the first leg of his journey to become the first openly gay governor of the state of Georgia.
Chief Green came away impressed – and feeling like a witness to history. Five days into a two-week trek, Mr. Yasger had slept next to a dumpster at a gas station – “homeless” with a $300 budget for a 300-mile trek. He’d gotten no sleep the previous night next to a church as rain drained into his nook.
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For many LGBTQ+ politicians in the American South, belonging means not denying their sexual identity but not leaning into it either.
“This is tractor and cow country – anyone wanting to get into politics should do what he is doing” to understand rural issues, Mr. Green says in an interview a few hours after the encounter. “It was really an honor to talk to the lowest man in Georgia seeking her highest office.”
Mr. Green wasn’t alone in coming to admire Mr. Yasger. Many concerned 911 phone calls about the tattooed stranger came from the same people who wound up leaving well wishes – 73 in all – on the town’s Facebook page.
Mr. Yasger’s path is unique, but his aim is increasingly plausible. While he remains the longest of long shots for the Georgia governorship, gay politicians in the South are finding growing success.
The trend is full of nuance. While the politicians winning elections are openly gay, most don’t dwell on it, which means they feel empowered – but only to a point. Running for office requires the fortitude to be satisfied with…
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