Caitlyn Jennerannounced Fridaythat she’s runningto try and become the next governor of California.
“I’m in!” Jenner, 71, wrote in an announcement on Instagram.
“Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision,” she added, taking aim at current Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom, 53, is the state’s Democratic leader and has been facing increased criticism amid theCOVID-19pandemic.
A GOP-fueled campaign recently earned enough signatures across the state to force Newsom to face a recall election. California’s last recall election happened in 2003, whenArnold Schwarzeneggerwon office after ousting Gov. Gray Davis.
“California is worth fighting for,” Jenner’s new Twitter bio also reads.
She is “running as someone that’s socially liberal and fiscally conservative,” a campaign adviser told Axios.
Jenner has reportedly formed a campaign team with ex-Donald Trumpadvisers, including Trump’s top campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio and former White House communications adviser Steven Cheung.
Caitlyn Jenner.MediaPunch/Shutterstock
Gearing up for her announcement, Jenner also leaned on Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale for advice, according to Axios.
Jenner voiced support for Trump’s 2016 campaign and his presidency but then revoked her support after the former president rolled back federal rules protecting transgender individuals' rights to use bathrooms.
“I thought Trump would help trans people,” Jennerwrotein a 2018Washington Postop-ed. “I was wrong.”
Though reports had circulated that Jenner was considering running for statewide office in California, shedeniedher plans as recently as February.
Recalls in California pose two challenges for outside candidates: The incumbent must be unpopular enough to be voted out and the outside candidate must consolidate enough support from a likely very crowded field.
And Newsom — who has defended his decisions and said Republican partisanship is behind the recall push — may not be following the trajectory of Gov. Davis.
WhileTheLos Angeles Timesreportedin February that Newsom’s popularity in the state “plummeted” over the past year — with a University of California Berkeley poll showing one-third of Californians supported the effort to remove him from office — the Associated Press alsoreportedin February that 54 percent of Californians still approved of Newsom’s leadership, according to another survey.
Newsom previouslytoldThe Viewthat he was “worried” about the recall effort gaining support.
“Am I worried about it? Of course I’m worried about it,” he said.
“We’re taking it seriously,” Newsom said onThe View. “I have to do my job every single day, but I’m going to fight this thing.”
source: people.com
