Fred Karger labored in California’spolitical vineyards for years, managing Republicans’ campaigns for office, but made a national name for himself two years ago as a major player in the opposition to Proposition 8, the measure to outlaw same-sex marriage.

Karger, who focused on the Mormon church’s role in Proposition 8’s passage, now is setting his political sights higher by running for president as a gay rights advocate and has made numerous trips to the early 2012 primary and caucus states of New Hampshire and Iowa.

“New Hampshire’s starting to feel like a second home,” Karger says on his presidential campaign website. ” I’ve just wrapped up my 8th trip to the Granite State, and it was a whirlwind.”

The Des Moines Register, meanwhile, included Karger in its account of the early presidential hopefuls in that state, which will select convention delegates by caucus.

The Register story can be found here and Karger’s campaign website is here.

PHOTO CREDIT: Fred Karger at a federal courthouse in January 2010. Bryan Patrick, Sacramento Bee.