New Candidate in Town | Ariana Thompson

In the event that Gov. Newsom is recalled, Caitlyn Jenner is campaigning to replace him. However, as of this time it seems unlikely that Newsom will be recalled in the first place. According to the PPIC’s most recent polling, 56% of Californians oppose Newsom’s recall, making it unlikely that Jenner will even get the chance to replace him.

Though Jenner does benefit from name recognition as an award winning olympic athlete and member of the Kardashian family, she is not particularly well regarded in either party.

From the Left, LGBTQ+ activists have criticised Jenner for her positions on trans athletes. Despite the fact that she herself has participated in women’s golf tournaments, she opposes trans athletes in women’s sports, saying it “isn’t fair” and petitioning “to protect girls’ sports in our schools.”

On the side of the right, Jenner has no established support among the Republican party and still trails behind her opponents in the polls. As of right now former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and businessperson John Cox have 22 percent of the vote respectively and she still loses out on third place to Former Rep. Doug Ose with 14 percent.

Some of the reasons for this might have to do with who she is aligning herself with. She herself has drawn comparisons of her campaign to Donald Trumps. She voted for him in 2016 and seems to be trying to market herself in a similar fashion. An outsider millionaire who will be able to “drain the swamp” or shake up liberal government.

She also advocates for some of his policies. “I am all for the wall,” she told Hannity. “I would secure the wall. We can’t have a state — we can’t have a country without a secure wall.”

But even then, she still isn’t fully committed to the part. According to her interview with CNN she didn’t vote for Trump because she “couldn’t get excited for it” and opted instead to play golf. And when asked about whether or not she believed in the integrity of the election she responded that she believed President Biden was duly elected. “He is our president. I respect that.”

The end result is a politician that cannot appeal to mainstream conservatives or die hard Trump supporters in a state where Republicans are a small minority. When combined with the small chance of Newsom being recalled it is a wonder that she ran at all.

Despite the fact that there is some precedent for a campaign similar to hers, specifically with Schwarzenegger’s stint in office. She lacks a lot of the qualities that were able to endear him to the public. Schwarzenegger had a lot of charisma and marketed himself as a centrist candidate, whereas Jenner has given her support to Trump who is hugely unpopular in California.

Though she still does have a chance in the race, Caitlyn Jenner’s chances of actually winning the election for governor of California seem incredibly low.