A public servant most of his life, Chris Gallant never thought his career would come at the cost of his private life. The democratic candidate for New York’s 1st Congressional District has run a campaign emphasizing the leadership and communication skills he’s acquired through a background in the military, as a union leader, and as a firefighter. But that message was drowned out when the New York Post unearthed Gallant’s old BDSM modeling photos in a would-be takedown piece that totally backfired. A story that would have once imploded a political campaign has now become a perfect example of who the aspiring congressman is in a crisis—an unflappable straight shooter to the end. The first time I call Gallant, he’s driving from one meeting to the next and loses service somewhere along the way (a hazard of living in Long Island, he admits). But after profuse apologies, he calls me back from a more wifi-secure location to chat all about his district, kink, and why the hell you should vote for the guy in the dog collar.
CHRIS GALLANT: Deja vu. Although this time, I promise you, my internet will work.
GALLANT: I’m sorry about last time. I really apologize. I was standing on one leg with a hanger in one hand, jumping around trying to get better signal.
KIRKPATRICK: No worries at all. Thank you for making time again. You were born and raised on Long Island, right?
GALLANT: For the most part. My parents got priced off Long Island when I was in sixth grade so we moved to the Poconos. Then, as soon as I graduated I moved back to Long Island.
KIRKPATRICK: Could you tell our readers about your district?
GALLANT: The district is very diverse. You’ve got The Hamptons, which is very eclectic and very expensive. Oftentimes, it’s seasonal so during the summer it’s packed and during the winter, dead. Then, you’ve got the western side of the district, which is Smithtown and Brookhaven—a bit more suburban and people are there full-time. Then you also have a lot of farmland, particularly on the North Fork where there’s a lot of vineyards. We’ve got the largest number of independent voters in New York State, about 38% and it’s an even split between Republicans and Democrats. I feel like this district is very purple. Both the Army and the fire department lean pretty heavily to the right. I’m often told I’d be the first Democrat they’d ever vote for. They’re excited for some kind of change, somebody who’s going to show up in our district and fight. The moment’s calling for someone to not be a politician, and that’s very much me. My background gives me an opportunity to step forward into this and to change the uniform and serve my country in a different way.
KIRKPATRICK: Totally. I think people are open to common sense wherever it’s coming from. People across both sides of the spectrum are a little disillusioned with politics in general.
GALLANT: In all of my careers working with the government, whether it’s the FAA or in the Army, and I come up with an idea that makes sense, people look at me like, “Oh, well, why didn’t we think of that?” It’s just common sense. Let’s use some of it. We just often choose not to because people genuinely don’t like change, especially when they are so used to doing it another way.
KIRKPATRICK: You mentioned you’ve seen how bureaucracy can slow things down. Why do you want to be a part of a system like that and how do you think you could ameliorate it?
GALLANT: This is the reason why I’ve decided to run. Congress has its lowest approval rating ever. And this year, Congress has probably had the most amount of days off. While that sounds really nice, the reality is that you’re not put into a position as a congressman or woman to take time off. You’re put in that position to work for the people and work for your constituents. At the end of the day, they’re your boss. You’re supposed to be a representative and you’re supposed to represent. And we’ve lost that, not only in this district, but across the country. In particular, Nick LaLota is terrible. He doesn’t show up, he doesn’t talk to his constituents, he doesn’t listen to them. He votes in line with things that are hurtful for our district and hurtful for the country as a whole, whether it’s the War Powers Act or tariffs, or gas prices which are $6.50 a gallon now for diesel. We need a change and I bring that to the table.
KIRKPATRICK: Totally. I’m interested to hear you say that it’s a really purple district, because I feel like one of the big talking points coming out of your race is that, “This is a seat that’s been held by a Republican for a decade,” so what chance do you have?
GALLANT: John Avlon was told he was going to win by polling numbers and he wound up losing by 10 points. Last November, we had our local elections and across the district we gained 13 and 14 points in many areas. I foresee that change carrying through this November coming. And to me that translates to, “If not a win, we’ll be very close.” It’s a stark difference from last time. I’ve knocked on Republicans’ doors, told them who I was, what I represented and what I wanted to do. And one guy walked inside and handed me a check on the spot. The conversations are really positive. People who have voted for Donald Trump three times are planning to vote for me. Washington is broken and it’s a problem.
KIRKPATRICK: Absolutely. And I think that’s a point that transcends your personal politics. We can all recognize the truth in that.
GALLANT: And before Donald Trump won, politics was never the conversation. Nobody talked about politics. My mom used to always tell me that you never discuss politics or religion. In the last 10 years, that’s all anybody can talk about. We’ve got to relieve the pressure somehow. I think by putting a reset on Congress, the Senate, and hopefully the executive branch.
KIRKPATRICK: Totally. Trump is a reality star and he’s turned our politics into entertainment. I think the more normal people we can get back in the room, the more serious politicians as well.
GALLANT: I mean, this is not a reality TV show. This is the greatest country in the world and we’re supposed to be the beacon of not only hope, but we should be taking care of our citizens. And we’re seeing that candle fade. The world is looking at the United States going, “What the heck is going on?”
KIRKPATRICK: Definitely. Especially as America often sets a standard for other places in the world of what’s permissible, and we’re setting a horrible example.
GALLANT: As dark as times are today, I see a light at the end of the tunnel. I see a future that’s brighter. Hopefully after the second time, we’ve learned from our mistakes and we can grow from this.
GALLANT: We are a social experiment. We are only 250 years old, one of the younger governments in the world. But we have built such walls against one another, and we’re on the same team. We’re fighting for the same country. We need to start building bridges and start coming together and having conversations again. Republicans and Democrats used to go to lunch. Yeah, they may disagree on policies and positions, but it was never a fight so much so where they hated one another. We’re going to fail if we can’t come together again.
KIRKPATRICK: When you’re talking to voters, do you ever face people who have those kinds of walls up and how do you disarm them? They might just hear “Democrat” and immediately shut down.
GALLANT: It’s actually on both sides—the extremes of each end. But if we want to make effective change and get bills through Congress, the only way we can do that is if we start working together. This country is built off of checks and balances. So it’s great to have two parties, someone that can go against you and argue with you about X, Y, and Z, but it needs to be a conversation.
KIRKPATRICK: Are there specific concerns you hear from voters over and over? I remember last time we spoke, you mentioned AI was a big talking point.
GALLANT: AI is a huge concern. A year and a half ago it could hardly write an email. Now you can type in a Claude code and it’ll build a whole application for you. I know because I’ve done it. I’m a nerd when it comes to technology. But people are scared because the threat to humanity is higher in the advent of AI than it was with the advent of nuclear weapons, and rightfully so. Throughout my career, I’ve always leaned on people who are more knowledgeable about a specific area to utilize their expertise to make good decisions. That would be the same thing I would carry into Congress. We should be working with these people to come up with safeguards and ways to protect not only the American people, but also make sure we’re on the forefront of the revolution of AI.
KIRKPATRICK: I think part of the fear is that it feels like we’re not being given the option to opt into it or to have our voices and our concerns heard. They’re like, “AI is the future, so get on board or get left behind.”
GALLANT: We have advanced technology so far and so fast. If you look at the age of the world, it’s a dot on the end of the timeline, and it’s exploded.
KIRKPATRICK: It’s really wild. Well, of course, we have to talk about the photos.
KIRKPATRICK: These photos coming out and your response to them might be doing more for kink positivity than we’ve seen maybe since Dan Savage. You’re expanding people’s minds in such a normal way. But I found your directness and candor in response to that moment to be very refreshing—very much this attitude of, “We’re all adults in the room.” Was that a scary choice to approach it in that way?
GALLANT: We definitely broke the mold. I don’t think anybody’s ever reacted in the way we reacted. But that wasn’t the initial reaction. It took some time to think about how to navigate something like this. I mean, it’s serious and it’s significant. But I decided that this shouldn’t be a part of our politics today. This is a distraction from the issues, and I think that was the goal. We live in a generation where cameras and cell phones and the internet have existed. That’s the life of the millennials and after. And so, I know a lot of really great people that would love to get into politics, but they’re afraid of exactly this. And so, I decided this was the moment where we need to break through this wall, because this is going to be the reality of our future. It’s time to realize that this exists and just move on.
GALLANT: And so I decided to own it. I think transparency is everything in politics. So this is my moment to tell people, “I’m telling you exactly what I know and how I know it. I’m not here to give you rhetoric, dissuade you from anything else or use buzzwords. I’m here to tell you what the issues are concerning the people I’m looking to represent.” That’s how I’m going to run not only this campaign, but hopefully my future as a congressman.
KIRKPATRICK: Totally. It was like, “Well, if I’m willing to be truthful about that, don’t you think everything else I’m saying is legit?”
GALLANT: Right. And I think that’s what we’re missing in our politics today.
KIRKPATRICK: Why do you think these types of attempts to shame public figures or cancel them seem to be less and less effective? I remember when Howard Dean made a weird noise and he couldn’t run for president. We’re in a very different time.
GALLANT: I mean, look at what we have in the White House. A convicted felon. The list is endless. They’re becoming less and less because it’s used so much and people are tired and now they’re just ignoring it.
KIRKPATRICK: It’s just more of the noise that we’ve gotten very used to drowning out.
KIRKPATRICK: And like you said, too, the more technology has become integrated into all of our lives, the more people see themselves in your predicament. Your digital footprint’s inescapable. Who amongst us doesn’t have a past that can be brought up in that way?
GALLANT: That’s a disservice to our country. If I need to be an advocate for it moving forward, I’m going to support people that are looking to get into politics. Things like this don’t have any bearing on me as a person. It doesn’t affect my ability to go pull somebody out of a burning building or to fly a helicopter in the Middle East and be a union leader and an advocate. I’ve built three careers plus since then, and so I think my resume can stand on its own. We need to focus on the person at the end of the day.
KIRKPATRICK: Absolutely. The internet and the cancel culture bell often tries to flatten someone into one photo, one choice, one tweet. Like you said, “We are all multifaceted individuals.” Also, don’t we want people who have real-world experiences?
GALLANT: That’s the other thing that has really benefited me or been in my favor—people look at me and they’re like, “Oh, he’s a real person.” I’m just a regular guy. That’s it. I enjoy helping people in any way that I can. I’ve dedicated my life to it. This is me just changing the uniform and serving my country in a different way.
KIRKPATRICK: And I think any sane person can recognize why that’s preferable to someone who’s groomed their entire life to be a career politician.
GALLANT: This is the reason why the Senate and Congress are about to die in their chairs—they didn’t have the internet and the world around what us millennials have. This is definitely a breakthrough moment, and I’m excited to be the front-runner of it.
KIRKPATRICK: Totally. I think it shows a positive side of the internet, too. Yes, it can dredge up all this stuff, but it also is community. It is people rallying behind you tangibly and being like, “Oh yeah, me too. I get it.” What has the response been like?
GALLANT: The response overall, 95% positive, if not more. Some Republicans were like, “Oh, that was really dirty and terrible,” but fortunately, public opinion has been very much on our side and we’ve gotten a lot of support from it. My whole focus is to pivot right back to the issues, because that is what’s important. People want to know that they have someone that they can not only trust, but someone who’s going to show up in our districts and have these conversations. I just held a town hall the other day. We had probably 150 people plus. And people asked me difficult questions, and I was there to answer them. I stayed after to talk to every single person until the room was empty. That’s what a representative is supposed to be.
KIRKPATRICK: I’m amazed at how spectacularly all of this backfired for them. It shone a spotlight on you and gave you a bigger platform.
GALLANT: For sure. I think their goal was to try and embarrass me, but I am unapologetically myself.
KIRKPATRICK: Amazing. Well, is there anything else we’re going to find out about you? Is there anything you want to get off your chest right here in this interview?
GALLANT: I mean, it doesn’t get any worse than that. This was the knife in the coffin and that was it really. I’m excited to break through these barriers because we need new blood, we need new people, and we need to start restructuring how we are as a country.
KIRKPATRICK: Absolutely. Thank you so much!
GALLANT: Thank you for your time and thank you really for the opportunity. And sorry about last time.
KIRKPATRICK: No worries. This one went perfectly.
Source: Fashion
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