Noted transgender activist and celebrity Caitlyn Jenner said in an interview Sunday that she is considering a potential run for a Senate seat, according to media reports.
Speaking with New York radio host John Catsimatidis, Jenner said she is weighing her political future, according to The Hill.
“I have considered it. I like the political side of it,” Jenner, who is a Republican but has criticized President Donald Trump over his actions regarding transgender rights, said.
“The political side of it has always been very intriguing to me,” Jenner continued. “Over the next six months or so, I gotta find out where I can do a better job. Can I do a better job from the outside? Kind of working the perimeter of the political scene, being open to talking to anybody? Or are you better from the inside, and we are in the process of determining that. Yeah but I would look for a senatorial run.”
According to The Hill, Jenner has already expressed an interest in political office, telling CNN in June that she would “seriously look at a run for office.”
As USA Today reports, Jenner, a resident of California, would likely be running for the seat of Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who is up for reelection in 2018 and has not said whether she plans to run again. Feinstein turned 84 in June.
Jenner is a Republican, but in February she released a statement and video to Twitter blasting Trump’s decision to end an Obama-era directive that allowed transgender students access to public school bathrooms of their chosen gender.
Well @realDonaldTrump, from one Republican to another, this is a disaster. You made a promise to protect the LGBTQ community. Call me. pic.twitter.com/XwYe0LNUOq
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) February 24, 2017
Should Jenner seek election as a Republican, she would be attempting to break a long run of futility for the party in California. A Republican has not won a Senate seat in the state since 1988, and in 2016, a Republican did not even make it past California’s open primary to the general election.
Jenner would also be trying to become the first ever transgender person elected to Congress. In 2016, two transgender women made history by becoming the first openly trans people to become a major party’s candidate for Congress, according to HuffPost. Both were Democrats, and both lost.
Jenner’s flirtation with a Senate run comes just days after musician and fellow Republican Kid Rock hinted at a potential Senate run of his own in his home state of Michigan, though some have argued that the Kid Rock is merely attempting to drum up publicity for his music.
In the months since Trump’s election, a rash of celebrities have publicly considered the idea of political office, including Oprah and actor Dwayne Johnson. None have formally declared their candidacy for any position yet.
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