Caitlyn Jenner Running for Governor of California
On April 23, Caitlyn Jenner announced that she will be running for governor of California as a Republican candidate against Governor Gavin Newsom after an expected recall election. Californians called for a recall election of Newsom due to disagreements on how he handled the pandemic. Although it is still unknown whether or not a recall vote will happen, there have already been more than 1.5 million signatures, which has surpassed the amount needed for a recall election to happen. There is a high probability that a recall could happen later in the fall. Even though Newsom has been heavily criticized, according to a statewide survey, 40 percent of California’s voters would support Newsom’s recall.
A headshot of Caitlyn Jenner.
Earlier this year, Caitlyn Jenner began to explore politics and has been working with a group of GOP strategists for her bid for governor. This includes Brad Parscale, who ran for Trump’s 2020 re-election, and Ryan Erwin, who was a former senior adviser to Senator Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Caitlyn Jenner wants to run for governor because, as she stated, “I’m in! California is worth fighting for.” In addition to this, she was prompted to run because “…for the past decade, we have seen the glimmer of the Golden State reduced by one-party rule that places politics over progress and special interests over people. Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision.” With this being said, it is evident that Jenner is motivated to make a change in California, especially as a Republican in a state that is predominantly run by Democrats
Upon Jenner’s announcement of running for governor, she received criticism from many people, particularly the LGBTQ+ community. Early in 2016, while Trump was running for president, Jenner was one of his supporters, which is the primary reason why she does not have the support of many Californians in a majority Democratic state. However, she later stopped supporting Trump in 2018 after he attacked LGBTQ+ rights. She stated, “I was wrong” about Trump supporting LGBTQ+ rights. Nonetheless, Jenner’s views on trans athletes about wanting to ban them from participating and competing in girls’ sports teams caused outrage from transgender activists. She claimed that allowing them to compete in girls’ sports teams is “unfair.” Many argue that enacting legislation like this would be discriminatory, especially towards trans children.
With Jenner running for governor, many people think that this would be beneficial for Newsom. Since Jenner has been very critical of policies that are designed to benefit transgender people, she is getting less supporters of her campaign. This could potentially mean that Newsom is less likely to be replaced by Jenner.
A headshot of Gavin Newsom.
Jenner has been campaigning for schools to reopen and is opposed to the state lockdown imposed by Newsom to avoid the surge of COVID-19 cases. She said, “Small businesses have been devastated because of the over-restrictive lockdown.” Additionally, she said, “An entire generation of children have lost a year of education and have been prevented from going back to school, participating in activities, or socializing with their friends.” Jenner’s campaign also focuses on eliminating taxes. “Taxes are too high, killing jobs, hurting families, and putting an especially heavy burden on our most vulnerable people.”
According to a source involved with Jenner’s campaign, Jenner will run as a socially liberal and fiscally conservative Republican. She hopes that running with this strategy will appeal to the majority of California voters who are dissatisfied with the state’s economic policies but are leaning to the left of the GOP.
Overall, many people do not think that Jenner will win the election for governor. Instead, many think that Californians would much rather prefer Newsom in office. However, it is still uncertain if Newsom will be recalled and replaced by someone else. This will eventually be settled in the fall.
SOURCES:
[Caitlyn Jenner announces run for California governor in likely recall election] [CNN]
[Caitlyn Jenner Announces Run for California Governor] [The New York Times]
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/us/politics/caitlyn-jenner-california-governor.html
[Caitlyn Jenner opposes trans girls in women's sports as unfair] [BBC News]
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56960011
IMAGES:
Caitlyn Jenner Biography [Biography.com]
Gavin Newsom speaking at the 2019 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco, California. [Wikimedia Commons - Gage Skidmore]
