Caitlyn Jenner’s entrance into the California gubernatorial race amid efforts to recall current Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday certainly caught some eyes. If elected, Jenner would be the first woman ever elected to the state’s highest office and the first trans person elected Governor in any state.
But the historic potential of her candidacy hasn’t brought her many allies from within the LGBTQ community due to her past support of former President Donald Trump. Key among those speaking up against Jenner’s candidacy is Equality California, the state’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization.
In a series of tweets shortly after Jenner announced her candidacy Friday, Equality California stated its opposition to her campaign. “Make no mistake: we can’t wait to elect a trans governor of California. But Caitlyn Jenner sent years telling the LGBTQ+ community to trust Donald Trump. We saw how that turned out. Now she wants us to trust her? Har pass,” the organization said.
Equality California cited Jenner’s continued association with former Trump brass, most notably former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, despite the Trump administration’s continued attacks on trans and LGBTQ rights. “After Trump banned transgender troops from serving in the military, attacked transgender students and even tried to allow homeless shelters to turn away trans women, Caitlyn Jenner still hired his former inner circle to run her campaign,” Equality California said.
Those concerns were present in Jenner’s statement launching her campaign. Jenner gave only a passing mention of her “helping advance the movement for equality” in her announcement as the rights of trans people in more than 30 states are being contested with discriminatory bills and laws.
The statement also hit on another correlation between Jenner and Trump: reality TV stardom. “Trans Californians in particular understand all too well the risk of electing another reality TV star who cares more about fame and money than civil rights, healthcare and the safety of our communities,” Equality California said.
