Caitlyn Jenner tells Californians ‘you get what you deserve’ after feeble election result
Caitlyn Jenner speaks to the media after casting her vote in the California recall election (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty)
Caitlyn Jenner has conceded her bid to oust Gavin Newsom as governor of California after managing a meagre 1.1 per cent of votes.
The 71-year-old reality TV star was among 46 candidates vying to replace Newsom; although she came in the top 15 after 67 per cent of the votes were reported, she has received just 55,150 votes at the time of writing, or 1.1 per cent of votes from those who favoured a recall.
The frontrunner was conservative radio host Larry Elder, a man with a long history of anti-LGBT+ and misogynist remarks, but he too was unable to win enough support to recall Newsom.
Jenner held a concession party on Tuesday night (14 September) at the Westlake Village Inn in Los Angeles as early results showed that she was nowhere near challenging Elder, let alone the incumbent governor.
The former Olympian slammed Newsom, telling reporters that he “didn’t campaign on not one of his successes, because he doesn’t have any”.
She then chided those who voted against the recall. “I can’t believe that this many people actually voted to keep him in office,” Jenner said. “It’s a shame, honestly, it’s a shame. You kind of get the government you deserve.”
Although Caitlyn Jenner may be shocked by the result it comes as little surprise to pundits, who have watched in bewilderment as she attempted to forge a political career despite an utter absence of electoral experience or cohesive policy platform.
Her unsuccessful electoral campaign was predicted in numerous polls, including one in May which found that only six per cent of California voters would even consider voting for her.
That support only dwindled as she alienated the LGBT+ community she once claimed to represent by directly opposing trans inclusion in women’s and girls’ sports.
By the end of the summer her platform was reduced to reeling out regressive Republican dogwhistles, vowing to “cancel cancel culture”, “wake the woke” and fight “critical race theory”.
Her campaign hit a new low last week when she backed Texas’ internationally reviled abortion ban, saying: “I support Texas in their decision, that’s their decision.”
The people of California responded accordingly, with 64.4 per cent of voters saying Newsom should remain as governor.
Newsom celebrated the result as the votes came in. “It appears that we are enjoying an overwhelmingly ‘no’ vote tonight here in the state of California, but ‘no’ is not the only thing that was expressed tonight,” he told reporters.
“We said yes to science. We said yes to vaccines. We said yes to ending this pandemic. We said yes to people’s right to vote without fear of fake fraud and voter suppression. We said yes to women’s fundamental constitutional right to decide for herself what she does with her body, her faith, her future. We said yes to diversity.”
