Olympic champion and reality television star Caitlyn Jenner debuted a website and merchandise store after announcing a bid for California governor on Friday.
Jenner’s website, featuring the slogan “Caitlyn for California,” includes merchandise and a link for donations. Mugs, hats, T-shirts, and bumper stickers are available for purchase with her logo.
“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,” the webpage reads. “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. Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision.”
Jenner plans to run as a Republican to challenge incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom. The bid is backed by top GOP operatives, including Tony Fabrizio, a pollster for Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, and Steven Cheung, one of Trump’s communications team members who helped spearhead a recall effort against then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003.
CAITLYN JENNER FILES PAPERWORK TO RUN FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR AS A REPUBLICAN
I’m in! California is worth fighting for. Visit https://t.co/a1SfOAMZQ3 to follow or donate today. #RecallNewsom pic.twitter.com/9yCck3KK4D
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) April 23, 2021
Hours before the announcement, Jenner told Axios she had signed the paperwork necessary to solidify her gubernatorial campaign.
“Small businesses have been devastated because of the over-restrictive lockdown,” she said in a statement. “An entire generation of children have lost a year of education and have been prevented from going back to school, partaking in activities or socializing with their friends. Taxes are too high, killing jobs, hurting families, and putting an especially heavy burden on our most vulnerable people.”
Brad Parscale, who was Trump’s campaign manager, helped Jenner assemble her team but will not take a formal role in the gubernatorial bid. The 71-year-old has been a self-proclaimed supporter of Trump, though, in 2018, she wrote a Washington Post op-ed saying Trump and his administration were not helping the transgender community in the way she had hoped.
“Believing that I could work with Trump and his administration to support our community was a mistake,” Jenner wrote at the time.
The athlete and reality television star, who was born Bruce Jenner, became a household name after winning the 1976 Olympic men’s decathlon. In 2015, Jenner transitioned to a woman and became Caitlyn Jenner.
Jenner took the time during the announcement to criticize Newsom over November headlines in which the governor was caught maskless at The French Laundry restaurant with friends despite urging his constituents to refrain from the same practice.
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“This is Gavin Newsom’s California, where he orders us to stay home but goes out to dinner with his lobbyist friends,” she said.
A recall effort has been launched against Newsom in response to stringent lockdown protocols since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Signatures are being validated to ascertain whether the requisite number was reached to put the question on the ballot in the fall.
Organizers continue to assert that they have obtained enough votes to get the recall to the ballots, though whether or not California voters will decide to depose the governor has still yet to be determined.
