Caitlyn Jenner Teases Possible 2026 Run For California Governor

Former Olympic athlete and 2021 gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner hinted of a 2026 Gubernatorial run for office late on Monday in a string of messages on X, quickly boosting her to some of the top potential Republican candidates in the race.

Born Bruce Jenner, he first achieved widespread fame in the mid 1970’s as a decathlon athlete, culminating in a gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympic games. Following that, he became a longtime media star, appearing in multiple movies and TV shows, such as Keeping Up With the Kardashians. More recently, Jenner has become a leading transgender activist, coming out as a woman in 2015. In the last decade, Jenner has also become increasingly political, as well as the lead trans figure within the Republican Party. This culminated in her 2021 run for Governor during the 2021 recall election.

However, her campaign had been marred by multiple delays, including a month long halt in her campaign to shoot a project in Australia. This ultimately led her to only get 1% of the vote, coming in 13th place behind talk show host Larry Elder, who got nearly 50% of the vote. Governor Gavin Newsom ultimately avoided recall that year, but the recall ultimately made Jenner a more known political figure in the state. Earlier this year, Jenner hit headlines again by publicly supporting Donald Trump in the Presidential race, helping bring in trans voters for Trump.

While Jenner was supporting Trump, the candidate field for the 2026 California Gubernatorial race grew exponentially. This began in April 2023 when Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis became the first major candidate to declare her intent to run a full three and a half years before the election. Since then, on the Democratic side, she has been joined by six others, including the major candidates of State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), Former State Controller Betty Yee, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Potential candidates have included  Attorney General Rob Bonta, Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-CA), Vice President Kamala Harris, 2022 L.A. Mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. In particular, Porter won a USC poll in September, showing her to be by far the best selection for the Dems, and Harris won a Berkeley poll.

The GOP has been a lot more lighter on candidates so far, and currently has only two candidates in the race – Vice President of Zacky Farms Leo Zacky and business consultant Sharifah Hardie. Potential candidates have also been light, with State Senator and 2022 Gubernatorial candidate Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, and Fox New Host and former advisor to UK Prime Minister David Cameron Steve Hilton all saying that they were interested. This changed on Monday, however, when Jenner began expressing interest in the race.

When asked on X about a possible Gubernatorial run in 2026, Jenner posted “MAKE CA GREAT AGAIN,” and later added “If I ran, and it was ultimately against Harris, I would destroy her.”

She also confirmed that she wasn’t the ‘right’ trans according to those on the left, saying that “Absolutely not. Which is even more fun.”

A possible second run for Jenner

While the comments are not a confirmation on Jenner running, it did confirm that she is considering a run, making her one of the highest profile Republicans to enter the race. Along with Dahle, she also has gone through a Gubernatorial race previously and can likely build a team up quicker than other candidates. If she does decide to run, she, along with any other candidate can file between now and January 2026 in time for the March 2026 primary, which is expected to be one of the most crowded in state history.

“With so many name Democrats running, all the GOP has to do is get their own name candidate or two on the ballot and they can easily get one of their people in one of the slots,” explained gubernatorial pollster Guillermo Williams to the Globe on Tuesday. “For the GOP, Hilton was likely the biggest candidate. But with Jenner possibly coming up now too, it would be interesting.

“She didn’t do all that well three years ago in the recall, but she also entered late and took a month off. This time around, she could have everything open for a run. Plus, it has been shown that she can swing trans voters away from the Dems. It isn’t much, but the GOP running an LGBT candidate like that, one with a big name that both older and younger voters know, would be very interesting.

“We’ll see if she runs though. The GOP always seem to get at least one big name to run these elections, like with Garvey in the Senate this year. And occasionally they get the win, like with Schwarzenegger. Also we need to factor in that California saw an uptick of people voting Republican this year. 2026 would be building off that momentum, so the March primary will need the GOP to get an exciting person in, especially if Harris or Porter decides to enter.”

More on a possible Jenner run for Governor is expected soon.