Caitlyn Jenner has embarrassingly low support among voters as recall election nears

The results of a new poll conducted just days before voting closes in the California gubernatorial recall effort reflects the lack of support Caitlyn Jenner has garnered throughout her campaign thus far.

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) conducted a survey and included the former Olympian alongside four other recall candidates. Only one percent of the California voters likely to vote in the recall election said they would choose her on the ballot.

Related: Caitlyn Jenner’s under fire for her inconsistent mask-wearing while touring California

The same poll found that it is not likely that the recall will be successful, as PPIC found that 39 percent of likely voters will vote in favor of recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), while 58 percent will not or remain undecided.

Never Miss a Beat

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.

Sign Up

Daily

Weekly

Good News

Promotions (occasional)

Among those polled, Newsom also had a 53 percent approval rating. The poll suggests the recall being successful is not likely, and the results come before President Joe Biden (D) will campaign for Newsom ahead of the September 14 election day. Biden has a 58 percent approval rating with likely recall voters, higher than both Congress and the California Legislature.

The only Republican recall candidate that gained double-digit percentage of support in the poll was former conservative radio host Larry Elder, who has 26 percent of likely voters’ support. Jenner has repeatedly tried to position herself as a moderate “alternative” to Elder during the campaign.

While she is not the only candidate with low support in this poll, Jenner has consistently rated low in polls against the other Republican candidates, and Newsom, since her campaign started in April. A poll in May found that only 6 percent of California voters would consider voting for her, and very few polling found support for her to be higher than that.

Jenner has not helped by deciding to go on her weeks-long break to film Celebrity Big Brother in Australia, to skip out on debates, to attack on journalists covering her, and refusing to interview with major media publications evaluating the recall candidates.

Her campaign is at the point that instead of hoping to gain a surplus of campaign funding before the election, Jenner has started putting her own money into her campaign in hopes of turning things around. So far they’ve spent close to a million dollars.

Entering the race to replace Newsom, a longtime LGBTQ community ally, has been Jenner’s first foray into politics. A former Trump supporter, she is one of the best-known trans people in America, but she has been a lightning rod for criticism among LGBTQ people.

She has made waves for her tactless comments and support for the Republican party while it relentlessly attacks the trans community. She joined in on those attacks when she announced her support for banning trans girls from playing sports as their gender identity. Under her own position, she would not be able to compete in events such as the ones that led her to compete in the Olympics.

The PPIC polling was conducted between August 20 and August 29 and over 1,700 Californians participated on the phone. Jenner was one of only five recall candidates included in the questions in the poll based on “both significant media attention and sufficient resources for statewide campaigning.”

Even when presented amongst her fellow Republican candidates, who she has refused to debate or even criticize besides some remarks about frontrunner Elder, all the other candidates ranked higher than her — in addition to Elder leading with 26 percent, Kevin Faulconer had five percent of support from likely voters, while John Cox and Kevin Kiley each had three percent support each.

25 percent of those that support recall have not favored or will not choose any candidate if they vote to recall Newsom, and 24 percent said they remain unsure. 14 percent of likely voters also named other candidates.

Don't forget to share: