Former Congressman Doug Ose Files To Run In California Recall Election

SACRAMENTO (CBS13 ) - Former California congressman Doug Ose is officially running for governor in the recall election.

Ose's campaign said they filed paperwork with the Secretary of State's Office to make his run official.

Ose appears to be running on a platform of fixing the state and addressing what he says is corruption and hypocritical leadership. He issued the following statement that reads, in part:

"Sacramento is broken. Years of hypocritical leadership and corruption have led to a dramatic rise in every indicator of a failed state: homelessness, crime, poverty, unemployment, housing costs, cost-of-living, gas prices, and electricity rates. We're failing our kids by playing politics with their education, and hardworking families are fleeing for better opportunity. I'm running to bring back OUR California, and to put hardworking California families first."

Back in March, Ose announced his run and sat down with CBS13's Steve Large to talk about why he's running.

"I have lived here all my life and I have never seen things so chaotic, so screwed up," Ose said in an interview with CBS13 Tuesday afternoon. "And I'm just not gonna stand aside and let it get worse. I'm gonna try to change that."

The former congressman, a political moderate, briefly ran for governor in 2018 before dropping out of the race, citing a lack of funding. He is a longtime supporter of former President Donald Trump and served as Trump's California chairman in 2016.

Friday is the last day that candidates can file to run in the election, which is only 60 days away. As of Friday, there were already dozens of people who have declared. Aside from such notable candidates as reality star Caitlyn Jenner, one-time California GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox, conservative talk show host Larry Elder, and former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, dozens of others have also announced a run.

While no Democrat currently holding a statewide or notable local office has announced a run, at least 16 of the candidates who have filed are registered Democrats.

At least 33 registered Republicans have also declared, along with many more no-party preference and third-party candidates.