Caitlyn Jenner is running for governor of California, she announced Friday.
The “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star, a longtime Republican, filed initial paperwork to challenge Democratic incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom in a potential recall election.
“I’m in!” she declared on Twitter.
Jenner, 71, has a team of prominent GOP strategists behind her, Axios reported. They include Tony Fabrizio, a pollster who worked on former US President Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, and Steven Cheung, a former Trump White House aide who was part of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s team during the star’s successful 2003 recall election.
Jenner’s personal friend, Brad Parscale, Trump’s former campaign manager, helped build her team though he doesn’t plan on taking an official role on the campaign.
In a statement, the transgender rights activist slammed Newsom for his “over-restrictive lockdown” during the COVID-19 pandemic and complained that the Golden State’s taxes are “too high.”
“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,” she said. “Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision.”
She added: “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’s website went live Friday morning, featuring a slew of campaign goodies for sale, including a pair of stemless “Caitlyn for California” wine glasses for $35 and matching “beverage coolers” for $15.
A campaign advisor told Axios that Jenner, a transgender rights activist and Olympic gold-winning decathlete, has strong name recognition and is “very socially liberal.”
“She’s running as someone that’s socially liberal and fiscally conservative,” the advisor said.
Jenner said she will formally announce her bid in the coming weeks.
Speculation of her candidacy swirled earlier this month as Newsom saw his approval ratings plummet as a result of his heavy-handed handling of the coronavirus crisis.