Kyle Little is exactly where he wants to be, out in the streets, talking directly to the people he is running to represent. When The Quintessential Gentleman caught up with him, he was in his car between campaign stops, canvassing across New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District.
Little, a Black openly gay small business owner, adjunct professor, and longtime community advocate, is running for Congress on a platform built around one core message: The People Deserve to Be Seen. Born and raised in Union County, New Jersey, a self-described “typical Jersey boy” who is always on the move, Little graduated from Linden High School in 2006, went on to Montclair State University, and has spent his adult life building a life and a business in Middlesex County.
His introduction to politics came early. As a teenager, he canvassed alongside his father during a city council campaign in Roselle. His father also took him to see the late Congressman Donald Payne Jr., the first Black man ever elected to Congress in the state of New Jersey.
The seeds were planted young, but Little is clear that he didn’t enter the race simply because of his upbringing. The moment that sharpened his political awareness, like many Americans, was more recent.
“I knew who to vote for, of course, I was going to vote for Obama, and that was my first presidential election,” Little said. “But I didn’t really have very distinct views about it. Since then, getting older and more established in life, I’ve had very, very firm views about a lot of things.”
At the top of those views is the belief that politics touches every part of daily life, whether people acknowledge it or not. “Just because you don’t care about politics doesn’t mean that politics doesn’t care about you,” he said. “If you’re complaining about potholes in your streets, that’s politics. If you’re concerned about your school getting resources, that’s politics. Everything that impacts your life deals with politics.”
Little owns two fitness studios in New Jersey, and his experience as an entrepreneur gives him credibility on economic issues that most candidates can’t claim. He spoke about consolidating his businesses during our conversation, closing one location that week and returning to his original studio as a way to cut costs in an economy that has made survival difficult for small business owners across the state.
“Everything is expensive, man,” he said. “Right now I’m spending over $100,000 a year in business expenses alone. You can’t find a one-bedroom apartment in the state of New Jersey for less than two grand a month. The majority of people are struggling right now with the state of the economy — and with that struggle comes the struggle of small businesses.”
His campaign’s response to that reality is direct. Little is proposing a $25,000 grant for small businesses and pushing to make loans more accessible for entrepreneurs who are trying to get off the ground or stay afloat.
“A lot of people don’t realize that you have to have money to start a business,” he said. “That’s why so many businesses go under in less than a year. There’s startup capital, security deposits, zoning fees — a lot of different things that have to happen.”
Little doesn’t shy away from the full scope of who he is or what he stands for. As a Black openly gay man, he brings a perspective to this race that is still underrepresented in government, and he considers that representation part of the work itself.
“It’s very important for the LGBTQ community to have representation,” he said. “And we know that as Black people, we always say representation matters. So here you go: I’m a two for one. I’m Black and I’m gay. You’ve got representation in both instances right there.”
The stakes, he argues, are personal. As a small business owner, Little is on his husband’s health insurance, meaning a rollback of same-sex marriage protections wouldn’t just be a political loss, it would directly affect his access to healthcare.
“I’m basically a fighter for marginalized communities,” he said. “I’m going to shut down all of the fear-mongering and bigotry that’s directed toward communities like the LGBTQ community, even the trans community. They’re only one percent of the population, yet they’re blamed for everything. Trans people are nine times more likely to attempt suicide than cisgender individuals, and they’re not the reason you don’t have any money in your pocket.”
One of the more ambitious pillars of Little’s platform is his vision to build a modern Black Wall Street model across New Jersey, a framework centered on ownership, entrepreneurship, and long-term investment in communities that have historically been underserved. He shares what he believes the Democratic Party has fallen short on this front.
“As African Americans, 90 percent of us vote Democrat; we’ve voted Democrat since the 1960s,” he said. “I always felt like the Democratic Party wasn’t really providing for our communities enough. I will be putting pressure on our Democratic governor to really provide for our communities. Economic growth should benefit the people who already live in these neighborhoods.”
While other candidates rely on large fundraising operations and political infrastructure, Little’s campaign is built on showing up, literally. “The mission is simple,” he said. “Meet the people directly instead of hiding behind politics.”
“Money should not decide democracy,” he added. “I should not have to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars just to be seen, heard, or treated fairly. The people deserve leadership from someone who understands what families are facing every day.”
The New Jersey primary polls are open on Tuesday, June 2.
