California gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner told CNN, in an interview broadcast Tuesday, that she "didn't even vote" in the 2020 election. But "Los Angeles County records show she actually did cast a ballot last fall," Politico reported Tuesday night, with notarized proof.
Jenner didn't leave much wriggle room, telling CNN's Dana Bash she didn't vote for president or any of the 12 ballot measures because "I didn't see any propositions that I really had one side or the other." So on Election Day, Jenner said, "I just couldn't get excited about it. And I just wound up going to play golf and I said, eh, I'm not doing that."
An unidentified Jenner campaign spokesperson told Politico's Carla Marinucci that Jenner voted on "some local issues." But even if that's true, Marinucci writes, "her claim to be a non-voter in that seminal 2020 election was baffling for a gubernatorial candidate trying to establish her political credibility, especially since records show she did participate in the contest."
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GOP strategist Tim Rosales told Politico he's heard of lots of candidates who said they voted and didn't, "but I've never heard it the opposite way, where somebody said that I didn't vote" and actually did. "I can imagine, having been on the inside of these types of high profile campaigns, you've got a lot of people scrambling right now," he added.
Claremont McKenna College's Jack Pitney, a former GOP operative, said if Jenner were "someone who is serious about public life," she "would know there is record of who votes — and who doesn't." He likened Jenner's campaign to "a reality show," adding "this gets her attention. Mission accomplished."
A new poll from the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found opposition to the California gubernatorial recall rising to 49 percent, with 35 percent in favor. Jenner won only 6 percent of voters pressed to pick a candidate if Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is recalled.
