Caitlyn Jenner explores run for California governor as Newsom faces recall
06 April 2021
Former reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner is talking with political consultants as she actively explores a run for governor of California, three sources with direct knowledge of her deliberations tell Axios.
Why it matters: Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is facing a recall election. A challenge from Jenner, a high-profile Republican and previous Trump supporter, would draw heightened attention to the race to lead the nation's most populous state.
- Jenner is being assisted in her consideration by Caroline Wren, a longtime GOP fundraiser.
- Wren previously worked at Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee for President Trump's 2020 campaign, and also helped organize the rally he addressed immediately before the U.S. Capitol assault on Jan. 6.
- A spokesman for Jenner declined to comment. Wren also declined to comment.
Jenner burst onto the national stage when she won the 1976 Olympic decathlon. She transitioned to a woman in 2015 and adopted her new name.
- She had returned to the public spotlight several years earlier in the reality show “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” which chronicled the life of the blended family into which she married in 1991.
Republicans have launched a recall campaign against Newsom, angry about his immigration and tax policies. The effort gained momentum amid added criticism of the governor's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
- In 2003, California Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, faced a similar effort.
- He was recalled and replaced by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, a former bodybuilder and star of the "Terminator" movie series.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.