A Caitlyn Jenner recall election stunt campaign is the last thing California needs

On the same day that Republicans in Arkansas overrode a Republican governor’s veto to enact a cruel law targeting transgender youth, Axios reported that Caitlyn Jenner may run in California’s recall election.

Jenner, one of the most famous transgender women in the world, has apparently gathered a group of advisors to help her explore a run against Gov. Gavin Newsom. In February, Jenner denied rumors that she was considering a campaign for governor in the recall election, which has not yet officially qualified for the ballot. Now, she appears to have changed her mind.

“Jenner is being assisted in her consideration by Caroline Wren, a longtime GOP fundraiser,” reports Axios. “Wren initially met Jenner through her work with the American Unity Fund, a GOP nonprofit focused on LGBT issues.”

Spokespeople for both Jenner and Wren declined to comment to Axios.

Fools with hopeless political ambitions will always find themselves swarmed by craven consultants eager to embarrass them in exchange for money. For some reason, wealthy political neophytes seem wholly incapable of learning from the experiences of others. They also tend to be alarmingly unconcerned about whether they are actually prepared to take on the complicated business of governing.

After all, Newsom has spent most of his adult life in government yet has struggled to lead California during the COVID-19 pandemic. While he’s earned plenty of valid criticism, it seems unlikely that a reality TV personality who won Olympic gold 44 years ago could have done a better job. The presidency of Donald J. Trump proved definitively that it’s usually for the best when TV characters stick to entertainment.

Besides, what is Jenner’s path to victory? The Republican Party has gone out of its way to define transgender people as enemies, so she can’t count on support from the party’s base. Newsom — who played a key and historic role in legalizing marriage equality — enjoys staunch support in the LGBT community. It’s unlikely that a longtime Republican like Jenner, a former Trump supporter who once praised the now twice-impeached president as good for women and the LGBT community, can siphon off Newsom’s support.

Given the abysmally low chance of political success — and the absence of any evidence that 71-year-old Jenner has suddenly developed a serious interest in things like water politics, criminal justice reform, housing policy and state budgets — what would be her real motive for a run?

Publicity seems like the most obvious explanation. With “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” entering its final season, Jenner needs a way to stay relevant. But as California turns the corner on a yearlong pandemic that has claimed nearly 60,000 lives in the state so far, she’d do well to find another way to satisfy her craving for attention.

If Jenner wants to be a leader, she should try bringing her fellow Republicans into the 21st century on transgender rights. That’s an area in which the history-making athlete and trans pioneer has the potential to create something more meaningful than a sad and cynical California recall sideshow.

This story was originally published April 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM.