Reality television star and former Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner filed the preliminary paperwork on Friday to formalize a gubernatorial run.
Jenner plans to run as a Republican to challenge incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom, her campaign said Friday. 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 former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003.
Brad Parscale, Trump's former campaign manager, helped Jenner assemble her team but will not take a formal role in the gubernatorial bid.
"Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision," Jenner in a statement, adding that California has been plagued by "special interests over people" and that tax rates are "too high," Axios reported on Friday.
CAITLYN JENNER CONSIDERING RUN FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: REPORT
"This is Gavin Newsom’s California, where he orders us to stay home but goes out to dinner with his lobbyist friends," Jenner continued, referring to November headlines when the governor was seen maskless at The French Laundry restaurant dining with friends despite urging his constituents to refrain from the same practice.
Jenner, 71, floated a run for office in the past and was a self-proclaimed supporter of Trump. In 2018, however, 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.
In February, Jenner's manager, Sophia Hutchins, released a statement saying there were no plans for a gubernatorial campaign.
“Caitlyn is not running for governor, has never considered running for governor and is very happy doing the work that she is doing to promote LGBT rights and spending time with her 18 grandchildren and 10 children,” she said at the time.
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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.
