According to reports, transgender activist and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner is meeting with political advisors in Malibu next week to discuss a potential gubernatorial run against Gavin Newsom in the possible California recall election.
In February, Jenner appeared to rule out running for California governor. The Daily Wire reported at the time, “Reality TV star and long-time Republican Caitlyn Jenner doesn’t plan to challenge California Governor Gavin Newsom in a potential recall election, Jenner’s manager told Politico in a statement Thursday.”
“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,” Jenner’s manager said in a statement.
“According to Politico, Republicans in California and Washington have been speculating that Jenner would be a formidable opponent for Newsom if the recall election made it to the ballot. Jenner previously floated a run against California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) for the 2018 midterm elections,” The Daily Wire added.
Despite these initial reports, according to Politico, “Jenner has been taking more concrete steps to prepare for a potential campaign than have been previously reported.”
“Jenner has brought aboard a team of seasoned GOP strategists. The team includes Ryan Erwin, a former top official at the California Republican Party who had roles on Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush’s presidential campaigns, who is serving as a general consultant. According to two people familiar with the hires, she has also tapped Harmeet Dhillon, a Republican national committeewoman and San Francisco-based attorney, to be general counsel,” Politico reported.
“Jenner has also been working with Caroline Wren, a longtime Republican fundraiser, and Brad Parscale, a former campaign manager to ex-President Donald Trump,” Politico wrote, adding that “[t]he four are expected to attend next week’s meeting with Jenner and her manager, Sophia Hutchins. Jenner has also been conferring with other Republicans about the race, including Dave Rexrode, the executive director of the Republican Governors Association.”
In addition, according to Fox News, “Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale is helping Caitlyn Jenner as she very seriously explores running for Governor in California.”
“The source told Fox News Parscale is helping to connect Jenner to ‘the best talent in the country’ as she considers mounting a gubernatorial campaign,” Fox reported, adding that the source said that Jenner is “very, very, very serious” about running.
Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, first announced that they were “transitioning” to a women in April 2015.
“Bruce Jenner, the Olympic gold medalist and member of the Kardashian family, ended months of speculation Friday night when he announced during an ABC television special that he identified as a woman and was making the transition from male to female,” The New York Times reported in 2015.
“For all intents and purposes, I am a woman,” Jenner said. “People look at me differently. They see this macho male, but this female side is part of me, it’s who I am. I was not genetically born that way.”