Caitlyn Jenner held her first press conference 77 days after announcing her candidacy for governor of California, and it lasted less than 15 minutes, was weak on policy details, and she flubbed data regarding polling that showed her having lukewarm public support. The brief discussion with approximately two dozen reporters took place in a plain hotel conference room with no evident protection, belying her popularity as a reality TV personality and former Olympian.
She addressed ten questions in around 11 minutes, responding with brief responses before the interaction was cut short after a two-minute opening remark in which she bemoaned the state’s high taxes. Jenner said she is the front-runner among Republican candidates in the recall election of first-term Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 14, despite the fact that no independent polling has been conducted to support her claim. She declared, “I’m here to win it.” She also denied criticism of her sporadic voting record, saying, “I voted when I needed to,” and announcing that she will spend the remaining month of the campaign on a bus tour of the state, with her tax returns to be released next week.
Jenner also suggested establishing desalination plants to help the drought-stricken state get more water, but he didn’t say when or where such facilities may be built. Jenner, who won the Olympic decathlon in 1976 and came out as a transgender woman decades later, claims she is more well-known than any other Republican candidate, including Newsom. Governor Brown has been in office for more than two years, having previously served as lieutenant governor and mayor of San Francisco. “Obviously, I have a huge advantage because of my name,” she explained. “To tell you the truth, I’ve run a lot of races in my life and know how to win. I’m just going to keep working hard.”
Jenner also dismissed polls from last spring that indicated she had minimal public support. However, she asserted inaccurately that the Berkeley IGS Poll was released on May 11 and that it was performed before she entered the race. Jenner announced her candidacy on April 23 and the poll was conducted from April 29 to May 5.
Jenner has receded from the political spotlight after an initial flash of exposure, while other GOP contenders have worked to build their profiles. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and businessman John Cox, who were both defeated by Newsom in 2018, are among them. Last Monday, state Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, a conservative radio presenter, entered the contest.