Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner files to run for California governor
Former Olympic decathlete and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner has filed her initial paperwork to run for governor of California and will officially announce her bid later today.
A longtime Republican, Jenner is seeking to replace Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in a recall election.
The former reality TV star hopes her celebrity status and name recognition can yield an upset in the nation’s most populous state.
Jenner has assembled a team of prominent GOP operatives including Tony Fabrizio, the top pollster on Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, Ryan Erwin, founder of RedRock Strategies, and Tyler Deaton, president of Allegiance Strategies. Though she’s not branding herself as a Trump Republican, she is counting on some of the former President’s advisers to drive her strategy.
She’s also hired Steven Cheung, a former Trump White House and campaign communications hand who worked on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s successful 2003 recall campaign.
Brad Parscale, a personal friend of Jenner’s and Trump’s former campaign manager has helped her assemble her team but doesn’t plan to take an official title on the campaign. The campaign’s website and WinRed donation page are set to go live today.
Jenner said in a statement that “Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision” and that “for the past decade, we have seen the glimmer of the Golden State reduced by the one-party rule that places politics over progress and special interests over people.”
