Michael Hansen, the openly gay executive director of Alabama environmental advocacy group Gasp, announced on social media that he is seeking the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Luther Strange and vacated in January by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"Let's not kid ourselves, this is a long shot ," Hansen wrote in the blog post announcing his candidacy. " I'm 35, gay, and a Democrat -- but it's one we have to take."

"It's pretty clear to me that it's not a Democrat or Republican problem, a liberal or conservative problem, but it's a problem of [electing] the same old politicians over and over again," Hansen said. "I think people are tired of holding their nose and they want someone to vote for rather than someone to vote against."

On his campaign crowdfunding web site, Hansen said he supports universal health care, as well as policies to streamline immigration, mitigate climate change, advance renewable energy, acknowledge and deal with systemic racism, and a federal law to "protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, education, housing, public accommodations, and more."