Republican state legislator Kevin Kiley will run to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in the recall election on Sept. 14, according to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Kiley, a third-term Assemblymember from Rocklin in Placer County, said Tuesday that he was throwing his hat into the ring because many volunteers on the recall campaign encouraged him to do so.
"One reason is to get this movement across the finish line," Kiley said. "I felt that by stepping up, I would be helping to finish what the people of this state started."
Kiley, 36, has frequently criticized Newsom during the pandemic over public health measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
He went so far as to sue last summer to restrict Newsom’s executive order abilities. He won a ruling in November striking down an order Newsom had issued on election rules, though it was later overturned on appeal.
Kiley has also been a major voice in the recall. He donated more than $10,000 to the campaign earlier this year and published a book called "Recall Newsom: The Case Against America’s Most Corrupt Governor."
Other Republicans have been running to replace Newsom for months, including San Diego County real estate investor John Cox, who lost to Newsom in 2018; former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer; and reality TV star and former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner.
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