This courtesy of a California law requiring five years of tax history turned over for public consumption to gain access to the statewide ballot.

And who said the recall was boring?

For example: did you know two opposing Republicans are business partners in a cattle company?

You do now, as Asm. Kevin Kiley (R–Rocklin) and former Rep. Doug Ose (R–Sacramento) are partners in the aptly-named “Ose-Kiley Cattle Company,” according to Kiley’s 2020 tax return filings.

It’s important to note that some candidates, like former also-ran Fresno mayoral contender Nickolas Wildstar, did not file tax returns for the last five years.

Wildstar told The Los Angeles Times that the Internal Revenue Service contacted him in the past about his tax filing status.

His lack of filings (and IRS inquiries) makes the case of Los Angeles radio host Larry Elder even more puzzling.

Elder has been ensnared by California’s tax return requirement for ballot access.

Sunday, the radio host was notified that he was disqualified from the ballot for filing incomplete tax return information with California’s Secretary of State.

Monday, he announced he was suing Dr. Shirley Weber’s office over the row.

After a review of income tax returns, here are some of the big takeaways:

Caitlyn Jenner’s Post-Kardashian “Kollapse“

Caitlyn Jenner, the Olympian and reality TV star, hasn’t been on the same financial footing since her Keeping Up with the Kardashians spinoff show I Am Cait was cancelled in 2016.

That year, Jenner reported $2.5 million in taxable earnings.

In 2019, the most recent tax filings available for the Republican contender, she reported a mere $550,000 in income.

In between, Jenner pulled down a cool $1.5 million for her 2017 memoir “The Secrets of My Life.”

Her earnings in 2018 and 2019 stabilized considerably lower with much of the money coming via two companies – one of which is a loan-out corporation (common among Hollywood celebrities).

Beyond paying taxes to California and U.S. authorities, Jenner paid foreign taxes in Australia, Greece, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland.

Her largest foreign tax hit in 2019 was in Australia, where she earned $320,000 in gross income coinciding with an appearance on British TV show I’m A Celebrity… Ge Me Out of Here, set down under.

Jenner recently paused campaigning to appear on Celebrity Big Brother in Australia.

Top two San Diego contenders vary widely

The two top GOP contenders from the southern end of the state – 2018 GOP nominee John Cox and former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer – demonstrated the stark differences in their campaign finance.

Cox reported $2.7 million in earnings from 2016 through 2019, with nearly $936,000 arriving in the final year of reporting.

However, Cox received hefty tax refunds courtesy of losses accumulated by his businesses and deductions taken via the tax code.

In total, Cox had a Federal tax liability of $56,700 and saw all but $1,000 of it refunded.

The vast bulk of Cox’s charitable giving in 2019 – via stock transfers – went to the his Rescue California Education Foundation, the nonprofit he founded that is best known for promoting a ballot initiative to remake the California State Legislature into a 12,000-member body.

Meanwhile, Faulconer reported $358,119 adjusted gross income for 2019, with a large bulk arriving from earnings made by Faulconer’s wife, restaurant event planner Katherine Stuart.

According to his 2019 tax return, Faulconer earned a mere $71,221 in salary running California’s second-largest city.

In total, the former first couple of San Diego paid $53,660 in Federal income taxes for 2019.

ALEX TAVLIAN | Contributed

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California gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner on Tuesday filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit between Gov. Gavin Newsom and California’s secretary of state.

Newsom, who is facing a recall election brought on by his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, sued the state elections chief late last month in an effort to get his party affiliation to appear next to his name on the ballot. The Democratic governor was supposed to indicate whether he wanted his party preference on the ballot back in February 2020, when he first responded to the recall petition. That requirement was part of a new law he signed that took effect in January 2020.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office said it has a duty to accept timely filed documents and anything after the deadline “requires judicial resolution.”

Jenner, who is one of several Republicans running to unseat Newsom, said she and her campaign filed the motion to intervene in the lawsuit to “ensure the laws governing the recall election are enforced and uniformly applies, as the Secretary of State likely will not mount a robust, good-faith defense against Newsom’s request for preferential treatment.”

“Throughout his time as governor, Gavin Newsom has always believed he is above the law,” Jenner said in a press release. “Whether it was when he shut us down while he lived it up at the French Laundry or when he prevented our children from in-person classroom learning while he sent his own children to in-person classrooms at a private school, this is another example of the hypocrisy of Gavin Newsom.”

Though many voters know Newsom is a Democrat, the paperwork error is an embarrassing mistake for his campaign, which last year also failed to challenge a court ruling that gave recall proponents more time to collect signatures.

Newsom’s campaign has painted the recall as a partisan effort driven by extremist Republicans and having the word “Democratic” next to his name would remind voters of that, said Darry Sragow, a former Democratic political strategist who runs the nonpartisan California Target Book, which tracks elections.

In the past, those targeted in a recall didn’t have the option to list their party preference. Democrats in the state Legislature voted to change that in 2019 after a state senator was recalled, arguing it gives voters important information.

Jenner accused Newsom of suing the Secretary of State to “clean up his own mistake because he did not comply with mandatory requirements of the recall election.”

“We are a nation of rules and laws, and when an elected official like Gavin Newsom believes he is above the law, the foundation of this country is jeopardized,” Jenner said. “The people of California have a right to know why Newsom will be asking for preferential treatment if the Secretary of State will simply bow down to his demands. One-party rule in Sacramento has created an environment where Newsom and his special interest friends can simply flout the rule of law.”

On Monday, Newsom signed a law that changes the recall rules in an effort to speed up the election. It essentially bypasses a legislative review of costs associated with the recall, because lawmakers already agreed to give counties $215 million to administer the election.

The election, scheduled for Sept. 14, will be a marquee contest with national implications, watched closely as a barometer of the public mood heading toward the 2022 elections.

The date was set by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a Democrat, after election officials certified that enough valid petition signatures had been turned in to qualify the election for the ballot.

—–

Fox News has reached out to both the secretary of state’s office and the office of Gov. Newsom but did not hear back before publication. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bradford Betz | Contributed

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Caitlyn Jenner wants to be governor of California but she took a pass on voting on some of the state’s most critical issues last year, from worker rights to taxes and affordable housing to affirmative action. Or did she?

In the latest example of muddled messaging in Jenner’s nascent campaign, she told CNN in an interview broadcast Tuesday that she did not vote in 2020 — for president or down ballot measures.

But Los Angeles County election records, first reported by Politico, show she did vote.

“It was voting day and I thought the only thing out here in California that I worry about, which affects people, is the propositions that were out there,” Jenner said. “And I didn’t see any propositions that I really had one side or the other. And so it was Election Day and I just couldn’t get excited about it.”

Jenner said she want golfing instead.

A campaign adviser said Wednesday that Jenner voted by mail on “some local issues.” The campaign did not respond to follow up questions about whether that meant she voted on any state propositions.

Malibu, where Jenner lives, held elections for city council, school board and a ballot measure to increase hotel taxes. Those questions were on the same ballot as the state propositions and presidential race, and all Californians received a mail ballot.

Jenner’s seeming confusion about whether she voted and admission that she had no leanings on any propositions — even those dealing with taxes, one of her signature issues — come as the political neophyte is trying to convince people she’s ready to be governor.

Jenner is among candidates seeking to unseat Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in an expected recall election this fall.

The 71-year-old former Olympian and reality TV star announced her candidacy last month. The first weeks have been rocky, with Jenner appearing to have limited knowledge of state issues in interviews and lacking specific policy plans. She suggested in a late April tweet that the governor appoints district attorneys, who are actually elected by voters, which drew mockery from California Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu.

“She’s at the stage in her campaign where she really needs to make some inroads and get folks on board with the idea of her being a legitimate candidate, and showing this kind of ignorance of the process doesn’t help with that,” said Kim Nalder, a professor of political science and director of the Project for an Informed Electorate at California State University, Sacramento.

Last fall, Californians were asked to vote on a slew of important ballot measures touching on criminal justice reform, jobs and the economy, housing and other critical issues a governor must engage on.

Propositions are often among the most expensive campaigns, and one measure to exempt companies like Uber and Lyft from classifying their workers of employees generated more than $100 million in spending.

“Voters, for the most part, take that very seriously and do their homework,” Nalder said.

Less consequential may be Jenner’s assertion that she did not vote in the presidential contest between former President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. Jenner previously supported Trump but broke with him over his administration’s position on transgender issues. Jenner came out publicly as a woman in 2015. She has hired several former Trump aides as campaign advisers.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Caitlyn Jenner’s candidacy for California governor is about to go from virtual to reality.

The Republican who calls herself a “compassionate disrupter” sits down for her first in-person campaign event, a one-on-one interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

The 71-year-old Jenner — who won the men’s Olympic decathlon in 1976 and decades later became a reality TV star and transgender woman — announced her candidacy about two weeks ago in a written statement on Twitter. Since then, her campaign has been slow to unfold, and the taped interview with Hannity will mark some of the first words voters will hear from Jenner since her campaign launch.

She has been active on Twitter and has posted a video and other materials on her website. She told TMZ on Saturday that she opposes transgender girls competing in girls’ sports at school, calling it “a question of fairness.” The comment angered many in the transgender community.

Thus far, Jenner, a Republican, has provided only a rough sketch of how she would manage the nation’s most populous state.

She’s choosing an exclusive location for her kick-off event. Malibu, where she lives, is known as a playground for the wealthy, with sprawling mansions perched above the Pacific. It has about 12,000 mostly white residents, and the median value of homes is over $2 million, according to government statistics.

Her cautious steps into the campaign highlight the risks for a political newcomer who could be tripped up by a vast array of complex subjects, from immigration to tax policy to vaccine distribution.

The written statements and video released so far, which include shots of her Olympic competition and gold medal, appear intended to introduce Jenner’s story to voters who might be only glancingly familiar with her.

With the Olympics more than four decades behind her, she’s probably best known these days for reality TV shows, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and the spin-off, “I Am Cait.”

Hannity’s show is likely to prove a welcoming stage for a critic of California’s Democratic-led government. It was a favored venue for former President Donald Trump.

“For a candidate like Caitlyn Jenner to win, it has to be like a layered cake. The bottom layer has to be Trump supporters,” said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution who was a speechwriter for former GOP Republican Gov. Pete Wilson.

“Where do you go to get Trump supporters? Simple. Sean Hannity,” Whalen said.

Jenner made headlines in recent years with her ties to Trump, who lost to Joe Biden in the state by over 5 million votes.

Jenner supported Trump in 2016 but later criticized his administration’s reversal of a directive on transgender access to public school bathrooms. She also split with Trump after he said transgender people would not be allowed to serve in the U.S. military.

Jenner’s first TV appearance comes as candidates in California’s expected recall election that could remove Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom later this year are becoming more visible. On Tuesday, Republican businessman John Cox appeared with a Kodiak bear named Tag to relaunch his campaign in Sacramento. Cox lost to Newsom in a 2018 landslide.

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and ex-Congressman Doug Ose, both Republicans, also are running.

Despite her notoriety. Jenner is a longshot to win her first try at elective office. Her threat to other Republicans — as well as Newsom — is her ability to capture the media spotlight, Whalen said.

“She is the shiny article in this recall right now,” he said. “She can make news any time she wants.”

The challenge she faces is getting past what Whalen called the “giggle factor” that comes with being a reality TV figure looking to run the largest state government in the country and the fifth-largest economy in the world.

“Will there be policy behind the polish?” he asked. “She’s going to need to produce serious ideas.”

Jenner took a small first step to answering those questions Tuesday, saying on her website that she would establish a working group to review state regulations, including those that could block the development of affordable housing, and promising to veto any tax increases.

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The 71-year-old longtime Republican has been consulting with GOP advisers as she considers joining the field of candidates hoping to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a likely recall election later this year. Jenner has spoken to Dave Rexrode, executive director of the Republican Governors Association, about a potential run, a spokesperson for the organization said.

The celebrity activist, who described herself as “economically conservative, socially progressive” in a People magazine interview last year, immediately would stand out in a field that so far has failed to attract a nationally known contender. Her potential run would come nearly two decades after the ascendancy of Arnold Schwarzenegger, another Republican who used his Hollywood fame as a springboard to the state’s highest office in a 2003 recall election. Still, a potential run by first-time candidate Jenner also has spotlighted the many unknowns about her positions on critical issues facing the nation’s most populated state, from how she would manage the coronavirus pandemic to slowing a homelessness crisis.

If the recall qualifies for the ballot, as expected, voters would be asked two questions: first, whether Newsom should be removed from office. The second would be a list of replacement candidates to choose from, if more than 50% of voters support removing Newsom from office.

The effort has been largely fueled by criticism of Newsom’s handling of the pandemic. Republicans who have announced their intention to run include former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, former U.S. Rep. Doug Ose and businessman John Cox, who lost to Newsom in the 2018 governor’s race.

Jenner is evaluating key questions in a possible candidacy: Is she ready for the rigors of a statewide campaign, the pressure to raise tens of millions of dollars and ultimately, can she win? said people familiar with her plans or who had conversations with those advising her but were not authorized to speak publicly.

The team around her includes former President Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Brad Parscale, who is helping Jenner assemble an inner circle; longtime Republican strategist Ryan Erwin, a veteran of California and presidential politics who would become the campaign’s general consultant; and GOP fundraiser Caroline Wren.

California Republican National Committee member Harmeet Dhillon declined to comment on a Politico report saying she would serve as the campaign’s general counsel.

“My understanding is she is in the research phase, trying to assess her chances, trying to understand the pathway to victory,” said Jim Brulte, a former chairman of the California Republican Party. He has not spoken directly to Jenner. Jenner made headlines in recent years with her back-and-forth relationship with Trump, who remains broadly unpopular in California outside his GOP base. Trump lost the heavily Democratic state to Joe Biden in November by over 5 million votes.

Jenner supported Trump in 2016 but later criticized his administration’s reversal of a directive on transgender access to public school bathrooms. She also criticized Trump after he said transgender people would not be allowed to serve in the U.S. military.

As an untested candidate in a potentially crowded field, it’s difficult to predict what her coalition of supporters might look like. Republican social conservatives, for example, might be hesitant to line up with a transgender candidate.

Newsom, who as San Francisco mayor ignored the law and issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004, has close ties to the LGBTQ community.

It’s also not known what role Trump might play in the election, if any, and how the GOP donor community that is crucial to funding a campaign would react. Jenner also could face questions about a 2015 fatal crash in which she rear-ended two cars. A 69-year-old woman was killed when her car was pushed into the path of an oncoming Hummer.

In a typical election, Jenner, as a Republican, would face long odds in a state dominated by Democrats. But with dozens of candidates expected to join the ballot in a likely recall election, the threshold to win would be far lower with the vote divided among many contenders.

Jenner’s celebrity status would be an advantage in what could be a chaotic two-month campaign. She’s widely known from shows including “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and the spin-off “I Am Cait.”

With multiple candidates, California Republican national committeeman Shawn Steel said it’s possible that a winner could top the field with as little as 20% of the vote.

Jenner “is not to be discounted at all,” said Steel, who has not spoken with her about the race. If she enters the contest, “Caitlyn adds a whole new level of excitement.”

It’s not uncommon in California for residents to seek recalls, but they rarely get on the ballot — and even fewer succeed. Recent statewide polling has suggested that Newsom would hold his office.

County election officials are reviewing the signatures submitted by recall organizers to determine whether it will qualify. The vote likely would take place in the fall.

Axios first reported Jenner’s interest in running, and Politico on Thursday first reported her conversation with the Republican Governors Association and the hiring of several prominent Republican consultants.

A representative for Jenner could not immediately be reached.

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD and KATHLEEN RONAYNE

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