Caitlyn Jenner, a former Olympian and reality TV star, announced that she plans to run to replace California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in a recall election expected this year.
“I’m in! California is worth fighting for, ”he tweeted Friday morning. Jenner, a longtime Republican, filed the paperwork in Los Angeles County and announced her intention to apply on her website.
“California has been my home for almost 50 years. I came here because I knew that anyone, regardless of their background or position in life, could make their dreams come true, ”Jenner said in a press release. “But over the past decade, we’ve seen the Golden State’s glow dimmed by one-party rule that puts politics before progress and self-interest over the people. Sacramento needs honest leadership with a clear vision.
Jenner, who described herself in the ad as a disruptor and denounced Newsom’s impact on the state, began exploring an entrance into politics earlier this year and has been working with a close group of GOP strategists. to lay the groundwork for her gubernatorial run, including Brad Parscale, who led former President Donald Trump’s search for reelection in 2020, and Ryan Erwin, a former senior adviser to Sen. Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
“Small businesses have been devastated due to the overly restrictive closure,” he said.
“A whole generation of children have missed a year of education and have been prevented from going back to school, participating in activities or socializing with their friends. Taxes are too high, they kill jobs, they hurt families and they place an especially heavy burden on our most vulnerable people, “he added.
Caitlyn Jenner: “I’m a trans woman in New York, I have to pee … oh my gosh, it’s Trump Tower”In response to Jenner’s announcement, Newsom’s campaign spokesman, Dan Newman, said: “We always knew that the Republican-driven impeachment would be a ridiculous circus full of Trump supporters, which only reinforces how much Californians appreciate Governor Newsom’s competent, compassionate and experienced leadership during an unprecedented series of crises.
A source within Jenner’s campaign said the top transgender rights activist will present herself as a socially liberal and fiscally conservative Republican, a strategy she hopes will appeal to a broad swath of California voters who may be frustrated with the moves. progressive economic policies of the state, but remaining to the left of the Republican Party.
“I think she has political positions that align with the center-right Republicans, but also with voters who fall outside that category,” said the source.
Jenner, who spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland and voted for Trump before publicly revoking his support in October 2018 for his anti-LGBTQ policies, has also turned to Steven Cheung, Trump’s former campaign adviser, as an adviser to Bell. Cheung is expected to help with messaging and political strategy, according to the source involved in Jenner’s campaign.
Proponents of the recall say they have collected 2.1 million signatures, more than the nearly 1.5 million it takes for the recall to be on the ballot. California county officials have until April 29 to finish verifying the signatures and then report the results to the California secretary of state.