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Former Olympian and reality TV personality Caitlyn Jenner, a longtime Republican, announced that she plans to throw her hat into the ring and make a gubernatorial run in California.
Jenner, a Hudson Valley native, who was born in Mount Kisco and grew up in Sleepy Hollow before graduating from Newtown High School in Fairfield County, took to social media to announce that she was planning to move forward with a run at the governor’s seat.
“I’m in!” Jenner posted with a lengthy release announcing her intention. “California is worth fighting for.”
"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,” she added. “Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision.”
Citing her past success as an Olympian, Jenner called herself “a proven winner,” and “the only outsider who can put an end to Gavin Newsom’s disastrous time as governor.”
Jenner said that a formal announcement will follow in the coming weeks, and her campaign website went live on Friday, April 23.
“In the next few weeks, I will meet with Californians from across the state to hear their voices and finally get this state moving in the right direction,” Jenner said. “The sacrifice is significant, but the responsibility is great, and I can't wait to lead, to help, and most importantly to disrupt the status quo once again.”
Politically, Jenner previously made waves when she supported President Donald Trump during the 2016 election before retracting that support in a 2018 Washington Post editorial where she declared “I was wrong.”
Following Jenner’s announcement, Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization denounced the choice, claiming that the trust was broken after she spent years telling the community to trust Trump.
“Make no mistake: we can’t wait to elect a trans governor of California … Hard pass,” they posted online. “Californians - and trans-Californians in particular - understand all too well the risk of electing another reality TV star who cares more about fame and money than civil rights, healthcare, and the safety of our communities.”
Jenner, the stepparent to the famous reality TV Kardashian family, had reportedly been considering entering the governor's race if a petition to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom qualified for the ballot.
Recall organizers announced that they collected more than two million signatures, above the 1.5 million needed to meet the state's threshold to trigger an election.
If a recall formally qualifies for the ballot, voters will be asked two questions: whether they want to recall Newsom, and who should replace him.
At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, she won the gold medal (as Bruce Jenner) in the Decathlon, setting the world record of 8,616 points.
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