Notable Republican Caitlyn Jenner, who’s made a name for herself as a reality TV star and trans activist, has filed paperwork to run for governor of California, according to her Twitter statement on April 23. If elected, she would be the first trans person to hold office at the governor’s level.
The bid for governor would be Jenner’s first run for public office. She has built a presence in the public eye with her marriage to Kris Jenner and their children’s fame through the reality show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.” As an athlete, Jenner took home a gold medal for decathlon in the 1976 Montreal Olympic games.
Jenner’s statement does not thoroughly explain her platform as a candidate, but she has described herself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal on social media. In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Jenner explained that her trust in then-President Donald Trump with the trans community was “misplaced”. Jenner has not publicly commented on the recent anti-trans bills largely targeting youth athletes being pushed by GOP members across the country.
Results from the efforts to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom are expected to be announced soon. The deadline to submit signatures from registered voters passed on March 17. Organizers were required to gather at least “5% of the total votes cast for the office of Governor at the last gubernatorial election,” — or 1,495,709 signatures for this recall attempt — according to the California Secretary of State. Rescue California, the organization leading the attempt, said it gathered more than two million signatures.
Jenner criticized Newsom’s leadership of the state during COVID-19 in the statement. Currently, California’s 7-day COVID-19 case rate is the lowest in the continental U.S., according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. She cited student’s learning loss and the effect the “over-restrictive lockdown” has had on small business as reasons that the state needs a new leader.
“This isn’t the California we know. This is Gavin Newsom’s California, where he orders us to stay home but goes out to dinner with his lobbyist friends,” Jenner said in the statement, seemingly referencing Gov. Newsom’s maskless dinner at the French Laundry in November.
Jenner joins former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, former Rep. Doug Ose and businessman John Cox in running against Newsom.