Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympic decathlete, reality TV star, and transgender activist, said Friday he is running for governor of California as the recall effort against current Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom moves forward.
In a press release posted to Twitter, Jenner, a longtime Republican, said, “I’m in! California is worth fighting for!” Jenner said a formal announcement will be made in the coming weeks, and he pitched himself as a “compassionate disruptor” who will campaign on “solutions” and “providing a roadmap back to prosperity” for California. Jenner also believes he is “the only outsider”capable of breaking the Democratic Party’s decades-long “one party rule” over the Golden State, and promised he would “turn this state around and finally clean up the damage Newsom has done.”
Governor Newsom is up for reelection in 2022, but Jenner may get his shot at the Governor’s Mansion much earlier than that. A campaign to recall Newsom has been underway since last June, and had gathered more than two million signatures before last month’s deadline. If 1.5 million of these are deemed valid after inspection, a recall election will take place in the fall. Other Republicans who are running include former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, former Representative Doug Ose (D-Calif.), and businessman John Cox.
Newsom has taken intense criticism for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, from his heavy-handed lockdowns to his widely publicized breaching of his own rules. His lax immigration policies and California’s high tax levies are also cited in the complaint against him. “People in this state suffer the highest taxes in our nation, the highest homelessness rates, and the lowest quality of life as a result,” the recall petition reads. “[Newsom] has imposed sanctuary state status and fails to enforce immigration laws.” California’s raging homelessness crisis has continued unabated despite billions in spending.
What does Jenner believe in? He describes himself as economically conservative and socially liberal. After coming out as “transgender” in 2015 and changing his name from Bruce to Caitlyn, Jenner said he would continue to support the Republican party and conservative views. He publicly supported Trump in 2016, only to denounce him two years later over transgender issues.
He spoke at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in 2016, and said, “Our best hope to get back to a constitutional government is a Republican Party. I’m not giving up on this country. I’m not giving up on this constitution.” He still admits that “The democratic party does a better job for the LGBT community, the trans community, all that kind of stuff,” but noted that while it was easy to come out as trans, it was harder to come out as a Republican due to the criticism he received from the mainstream media and fellow celebrities.
After the announcement to run for governor, Jenner once again got under fire from the LGBTQ+ community, which still has neither forgotten nor forgiven Jenner’s previous support of the former president and the GOP.
One of the state’s largest LGBTQ+ rights groups, Equality California, decried Jenner for the move. “Make no mistake: we can’t wait to elect a #trans governor of California,” they tweeted. “But Caitlyn Jenner spent years telling the LGBTQ+ community to trust Donald Trump. We saw how that turned out. Now she wants us to trust her? Hard pass.”
Trans activist Charlotte Clymer said that Jenner “doesn’t care about anyone but herself,” calling Jenner’s views “terrible” and branding him a “horrible candidate.”
“Black people won’t vote for Candace Owens…. I’m LGBTQ but I won’t be voting for Caitlyn Jenner. Just so we’re clear,” Star Wars actor George Takei posted.
Even the Kardashian family, who Jenner has been very close to and made a TV show with, won’t be making an appearance on the campaign trail for Jenner because they disagree with his conservative views.
Leftist media believe that Jenner’s run is juxtaposed with dozens of efforts across the nation aimed at denying transgender rights, including barring transgender students from playing on girls’ sports teams and classifying hormone therapy as child abuse. Jenner’s political affiliation is viewed as a betrayal of his current “trans” identity.
As Jenner builds a campaign staff, he is reportedly picking some Trump loyalists, including former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, former state GOP chairman Frank Visco, actor John O’Hurley, businessman Zack Schuler, and others.
“We always knew the Republican recall would be a ludicrous circus full of Trump supporters, which only reinforces how much Californians appreciate Gov. Newsom’s competent, compassionate, experienced leadership during an unprecedented series of crises,” said Dan Newman, a Newsom advisor.
Voters will be asked two questions in the election: Do they want to recall Newsom, and if he is recalled, who do they want to replace him with? No prominent Democrats have announced plans to run, and Newsom is prohibited from being a candidate on the replacement ballot.
Even though Jenner himself seems to have little chance of winning the race, Republicans see a rare opportunity to unseat a Democrat in a state where the GOP hasn’t won a statewide election since 2006.
