Caitlyn Jenner Announced Her Run For California Governor & Twitter Has THOUGHTS
On Friday, April 23, Caitlyn Jenner confirmed she's officially filed paperwork to run for California governor. "I’m in! California is worth fighting for," Jenner, who is a longtime Republican, wrote on Instagram. In April, Axios first reported the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star was exploring her candidacy. While she's more than excited to get things going, these tweets about Caitlyn Jenner's bid for California governor show reactions to her run are all over the place.
Jenner will be challenging the state's Democratic leader, Gov. Gavin Newsom, in the impending gubernatorial recall election. The recall campaign was spearheaded by Republicans who criticized Newsom's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as well as his policies concerning immigration and taxes. At least 1.5 million signatures were needed to trigger the election, and on Wednesday, March 17, the Recall Gavin Newsom campaign revealed it accumulated 2.1 million signatures. The signatures are still being verified, but the results are expected to come out by the end of April.
If the recall election happens, which is very likely, voters would decide if they want Newsom to stay as governor or if they would rather elect another candidate. Besides Jenner, other contenders include the following: businessman John Cox, who lost to Newsom by 24 points during the last gubernatorial election; Kevin Faulconer, the former mayor of San Diego; and Doug Ose, a former Republican congressman.
In her announcement statement posted on Instagram, Jenner said the reason she's running against Newsom is became "Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision."
"California has been my home for nearly 50 years. I came here because I knew that anyone, regardless of their background or station in life, could turn their dreams into reality," Jenner said. "But 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."
Jenner went on to say she's going to meet up with Californians across the state to hear their voices and get the state "moving in the right direction." Read her full statement below.
The news of Jenner's bid for governor wasn't received well by some who said they don't want to see another celebrity in office again. Others criticized Jenner's previous support of President Donald Trump, who has expressed views that harm the LGBTQ+ community. In October 2018, however, Jenner said her decision to back him during the 2016 election was a "mistake" because he did little to improve the lives of transgender Americans.
Despite speaking out against Trump, Jenner has reportedly formed a campaign team with ex-Trump advisers, including his top campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio and former White House communications adviser Steven Cheung. Elite Daily reached out to Jenner's rep for comment on these reports, but did not hear back in time for publication.
See reactions to Jenner's bid for California governor below.
The Kardashian-Jenner family has yet to comment on Jenner's announcement.
