Richard Grenell, President Trump’s envoy for special missions and interim Kennedy Center director, said he has spoken with the president about potentially launching a gubernatorial campaign in California.
“I talked to the president yesterday,” Grenell told Politico when asked if the recent unrest in California over demonstrations against Trump’s immigration policies have pushed him closer to a run for governor.
He did not offer any details of his conversation with Trump but told the outlet in an interview set to air Sunday that he is waiting to see if former Vice President Harris launches her own bid to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
“If Kamala runs, I think there’s a whole bunch of Republicans who are going to have to take a look at it, not just me,” Grenell said. “If she runs, it is going to make me have to take a look at it. Right now, I’m not running for governor.”
The special envoy would be one of the most high-profile names to jump into the state’s GOP primary for governor. A number of Republicans, including conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, have thrown their hats into the ring.
While there’s been backlash to California Democrats’ handling of the demonstrations that have broken out this week in Los Angeles along with the southern California wildfires earlier this year, Republicans will face an uphill climb in the governor’s race.
A crowded field has emerged on the Democratic side including former Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and the state’s Lieutenant Gov. Eleni Kounalakis (D).
Harris has not announced whether she will launch a bid for the governor’s mansion in her home state, but early polling shows her leading a hypothetical Democratic primary. A survey released in April from Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill showed Harris leading the field with 31 percent, while Porter trailed at 8 percent.