(Reuters) – Caitlyn Jenner, a former Olympic gold medal winner and transgender activist, on Friday added her celebrity status to a growing band of Republicans seeking to unseat California Governor Gavin Newsom, whose business-disrupting pandemic response has fueled a recall drive.
Jenner, 71, said the Democratic governor’s “over-restrictive lockdown” has devastated small business and deprived children of in-class schooling.
“Californians want better and deserve better from their government,” Jenner said in a statement posted on social media.
“I am a proven winner and the only outsider who can put an end to Gavin Newsom’s disastrous time as governor,” she said.
Before transitioning in 2015, Jenner’s achievements included winning the men’s decathlon event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Other Republicans in the recall race include San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, businessman John Cox and former U.S. Representative Doug Ose.
California’s secretary of state is in the process of verifying the signatures necessary to force Newsom into a recall election. If there is one, voters would be asked whether the governor should be recalled and if so, who should succeed him.
(Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler)
