Caitlyn Jenner announces run for California governor
Move comes as GOP pushes bills to cut rights for transgender people
LOS ANGELES — At a time when transgender rights have become the new culture war in American politics, former Olympian and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner announced a historic campaign Friday to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in the recall election.
“As Californians, we face a nowor-never opportunity to fundamentally fix our state before it’s too late,” the 71-year-old Jenner, a Republican, wrote on Twitter. “Taking on entrenched Sacramento politicians and the special interests that fund them requires a fighter who isn’t afraid to do what is right. I am a proven winner and the only outsider who can put an end to Gavin Newsom’s disastrous time as governor.”
The move comes as vocal segments of her party are pushing dozens of bills to curtail rights for transgender people across the nation.
The effort to recall Newsom is expected to qualify for the ballot soon, with an election in the fall. Other Republicans who are running include former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, former Rep. Doug Ose and businessman John Cox.
Though transgender politicians have been elected to office in recent years — notably Democrats Sarah McBride, a Delaware state senator, in 2020, and Danica Roem, a Virginia lawmaker, in 2017 — Jenner is the most prominent to try, as she seeks one of the most powerful offices in the country.
Her 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. These efforts are being advocated by former President Donald
Trump and Republican lawmakers across the country as part of a strategy some predict will help the GOP during next year’s midterm election.
“This is the largest, most widespread onslaught against trans rights and certainly, specifically, trans children, that we have ever seen,” said Charlotte Clymer, an LGBTQ activist who is critical of Jenner. “Given Caitlyn Jenner’s interest in running for governor of California, you’d expect her to speak out on these things. But she hasn’t really been out there.”
It’s a familiar quandary for Jenner, who has said she has received more flak for being a Republican than for announcing in 2015 that she identified as a trans woman. She describes herself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal, and publicly supported Trump in 2016. (A recent Politico story found that she did not vote in that presidential election, nor in about two-thirds of others she was eligible to cast a ballot in since 2000, including the 2003 recall.)
In 2018, after the president pushed anti-trans policies, Jenner said she made a mistake in backing him.
As Jenner builds a campaign staff, she is reportedly surrounded by some Trump loyalists, including a fundraiser associated with the rally that preceded the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Jenner was spotted dining Thursday night at Tuscany il Ristorante in Westlake Village with former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, along with former state GOP Chairman Frank Visco, actor John O’Hurley, businessman Zack Schuler and others.
Newsom allies have sought to tie the recall effort to Trump and the insurrection, a strategy driven by Trump’s unpopularity in California. Though Trump lost the state by more than 29 percentage points, he won the support of more than 6 million Californians — voters who will be key if the effort to recall Newsom is successful. Every prominent Republican running to replace the sitting governor supported the former president to varying degrees. “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 adviser.
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.
Jenner previously toyed with challenging Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2018. But this is the first time she has officially announced a run for office.