A first-time congressional candidate challenging Long Island Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., is trying to embrace the fallout after The New York Post published racy bondage photos of him last month.
Democrat Chris Gallant brushed off the controversy in a sit-down interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, suggesting the September report in The Post could turn out to be a “Kim Kardashian moment.”
The Post’s report included nearly naked photos of the candidate wearing a halter, with a thick collar around his neck attached to a heavy chain.
Gallant has said the photos were part of an ad campaign he took part in years ago.
“I mean, all my friends know I’m kinky,” Gallant, 37, told The Times. “I make Christian Grey look like amateur hour.”
The gay military pilot told the outlet he has no qualms about his personal identity as he seeks to represent New York’s 1st Congressional District, which covers a large swath of Long Island.
LaLota, 48, has represented the district since 2023. Neither candidate actually lives within its boundaries.
“I just thought, ‘If my family can accept me, the world can,’ and that’s how I lived my entire life,” Gallant told The Times.
Gallant noted that his fiancé, National Guardsman Mike Ingram, is currently stationed in the Middle East.
The Democrat said he does not know who provided the photos to The Post, but argued that someone “had to go hunt for this.”
With the midterm elections just 27 days away, Gallant has so far made little headway against LaLota in the staunchly conservative district. City & State currently gives LaLota an 82% chance of victory.
Still, Gallant insisted the images have, if anything, worked in his favor.
“My most difficult thing was always getting my name out there or trying to improve that,” he said, according to the report. “And there’s definitely been a name-recognition increase on the world stage.”
LaLota has not commented on the photos. However, the Republican congressman has blasted Gallant as “weak and woke.”
Gallant, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot, flatly rejected that label, pointing to his military service.
“I’ve carried people out of burning buildings; I’ve flown helicopters in the Middle East,” Gallant told the outlet. “If that’s weak and woke — well, I just think that’s inaccurate.”
The interview marks Gallant’s latest effort to turn the controversy into an opportunity. Rather than distance himself from the photos, the Democratic hopeful has openly leaned into the attention they generated, framing the episode as a boost to a campaign that had struggled to raise his profile.
Whether that strategy pays off remains to be seen. Gallant faces a steep climb in a district that has favored LaLota, with City & State’s 82% forecast underscoring the Republican incumbent’s strong position less than a month before voters head to the polls.
For now, Gallant appears unbothered, telling The Times that the publicity has gotten his name out there in a way his campaign previously could not.
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