Republican trans woman and generally bored rich person Caitlyn Jenner is reportedly mulling a run for governor in the likely event that we have a recall election for Gavin Newsom this year.
It's been a while since Jenner has enjoyed the kind of media attention she received when she first came out as trans in 2015, or when she repeatedly went on talk shows to discuss her support of Donald Trump. In 2017, a few months after the inauguration, she equivocated a bit while talking with Larry King (RIP), saying she was not a staunch Republican nor a staunch supporter of Trump, admitting that she was "disappointed" with the Republican party overall but she remained "conservative."
Then in July 2017, Trump did the inevitable to please his base in trying to ban trans people from serving in the military, which led to Jenner having to eat crow. And then by October 2018, she was finally admitting she made a mistake in voting for Trump, writing in a Washington Post op-ed, "As I’ve watched and pondered, my outlook has changed significantly from what it was during my highly publicized and glamorized early Caitlyn days, when my life as an out trans woman was just beginning. Since then, I have learned and continue to learn about the obstacles our community faces, the politics that surround us and the places my voice can help."
She added, "Despite the criticism I received from segments of the LGBTQ community for engaging with this administration, I remained hopeful for positive change. Sadly, I was wrong. The reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president."
AND THE ENTIRE LGBTQ UNIVERSE SCREAMED 'WE TOLD YOU SO!'
Anyway, Jenner is nothing if not determined to stay relevant, and as Axios reported Tuesday, a run for governor may be next in the cards, and consultants are being engaged.
"Jenner is being assisted in her consideration by Caroline Wren, a longtime GOP fundraiser," Axios reports. "Wren initially met Jenner through her work with the American Unity Fund, a GOP nonprofit focused on LGBT issues."
As ProPublica notes, Wren was listed as a "VIP Advisor" in a National Park Service permit for Trump's January 6th rally at the Ellipse in D.C., and she also worked as a deputy to Kimberly Guilfoyle, Don Jr.'s girlfriend and the former Mrs. Gavin Newsom, and she worked on Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee for President Trump's 2020 campaign.
So, clearly, she's among the Republican establishment that is sniffing the around the Recall Newsom effort to see if she can occupy herself there, and why not try it with Caitlyn Jenner?
It's been widely predicted that some names might come out of the woodwork given the low barrier to entry in a California recall election, and the history of the 2003 recall of Gray Davis in which we ended up with a heavily accented action movie star as governor instead.
The difference now, as recent polling showed, is that Newsom remains popular among Democratic voters, who represent a significant majority of the California electorate — a larger majority even than in 2003. Only 40% of voters polled — almost all of them Republican — said they would support recalling Newsom, while only 15% of Democrats polled supported the recall.
Now a different poll conducted in early March by Texas-based Nexstar Media Group — which owns local station KRON4 — unsurprisingly came up with different results showing voters more "divided" on the recall, but that means very little — and the later poll was conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California.
In any event, you can expect more characters to join the fray as the actual recall process takes shape.
Meanwhile, if you watch these sorts of shows, you can see Jenner make an appearance on the final season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, currently airing on E!
Previously: Brace Yourselves For a Rogues' Gallery of Candidates If Newsom Recall Election Happens
Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images