The extremely online former NFL punter-turned-activist on his run for office

Chris Kluwe and I first connected where most people find each other these days: The internet. I vaguely understood him to be a former pro-athlete who, much like me, enjoyed posting online a bit too much. But when I caught wind of his political activism (and his devotion to World of Warcraft) my interest was piqued. When we finally met in person back in June, he shared with me the ultimate news tip: He was planning to run for office.

On Monday Kluwe officially launched his campaign as a Democratic candidate for California’s 72nd Assembly District, an area that covers notable Orange County cities like Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach. As a native son of the district’s Seal Beach, the UCLA-educated former punter for the Minnesota Vikings is looking to flip the currently Republican-held seat in next year’s election.

Former professional athletes running for office isn’t unusual at this point. On Thursday former New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira announced he was running as a conservative Republican for a Texas congressional seat (even though he lives in Connecticut) “to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda.” Kluwe, however, is hoping to use his clout to represent the non-fascist wing of American politics. 

Kluwe and I chatted by phone on Wednesday for his first interview since launching his campaign. We discussed the leadership (and lack thereof) of California Governor Gavin Newsom, how he doesn’t actually watch sports, and whether we still live in democracy. Here’s our conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity:

KABAS: You've played pro football. You've been and continue to be an activist. You are a darling of the online gaming world. So why run for office? Why now?

KLUWE: I never wanted to be a politician. But the way that things are going, especially with the Trump administration, and then locally here in Huntington Beach and what we've seen with our city council, now is the time where we have to step up. We can't afford to stand by the wayside anymore. And you know, it's people who normally wouldn't want to be involved in politics. Well, now it is time that we need to be involved in politics, because we are at risk of losing our democracy. And if you can't, you can't stand up now, like when? When are you going to show up?

KABAS: Do you think we still have a democracy?

KLUWE: Currently? No. I believe we are currently in authoritarianism, and I think that's been made very clear, both due to the fact that the Republicans, as well as the Supreme Court, refuse to reign Trump in. He's deploying the National Guard to multiple states. He's deploying the military into US cities. And he has publicly proclaimed that he wants to be a dictator. And call me silly, but when Donald Trump says he wants to do something, I listen, because whenever he says he wants to do something, he always tries to do that thing.

KABAS: I think running for office, though, shows some faith that a system still exists, right? That you can affect change from the inside in some way. So if we aren't living in a democracy, what do you hope to achieve by running and working within the system as it currently is?

KLUWE: So right now, we're currently under authoritarian rule, but it's still weak authoritarian rule. The courts are still pushing back on the lower levels, both federally and state, and there are a lot of states that are pushing back. Obviously, Newsom has been doing the redistricting stuff. Governor Pritzker has been talking about ‘you can't come into Chicago.’ I think I saw something in Philadelphia where if ICE or DHS breaks the law, they're going to prosecute and charge them. And so we still have the potential to get back our democracy. We just have to show up and fight for it.

KABAS: You mentioned Governor Newsom, your state's governor. He's been in the spotlight lately for his social media posts trolling Trump. But he's also podcasted with far right media figures in the very recent past, and he's shown a willingness to throw trans people under the bus to achieve his greater aims. And so I'm really curious to know what you think of his leadership?

KLUWE: So Governor Newsom, his leadership is interesting in that he's very clearly a political creature. And he's going to do what he feels is best from a polling perspective, not necessarily what's best from a, ‘oh, this is my moral compass,’ or, ‘this is my line in the sand.’ 

I think it's pretty clear that he's going to be running, or considering a presidential run, and while I appreciate the fact that Gavin Newsom is fighting back right now and on our side, due to his constant attacks on the trans community and his willingness to host far right figures, I don't think he's worthy presidential material. And I don't think it's appropriate for him to present himself that way, unless he did a lot of work to make up for what he's done in the past. 

I don't blame any trans person that refuses to vote for Gavin Newsom because he's showing people he will throw them under the bus. And as a democracy, we can't be willing to sacrifice other people. Like if you're willing to sacrifice another group, no matter how small that group is, you're not a democracy. You're some other form of government. Because when circumstances change, then that means you'll sacrifice another group, and basically at that point you're the same as Trump. You're just wearing a different hat.

KABAS: You're no stranger to kind of mixing it up politically. There's the now-infamous city council meeting from February of this year during which you got arrested, and which ended up costing you your local high school coaching job. Will you bring that same approach to the State Assembly? Like, what do you see as your style as an official politician?

KLUWE: Yeah, so my style, so to speak, would definitely be, like—I have things that I think are right and wrong. And I am willing to say, ‘No, that's wrong. I'm not going to do that.’ But at the same time, I do want to work with other people and help them understand that what you're doing here isn't what's best for us as a society, what's best for us as a democracy. Because at the end of the day, we all thrive when we all have opportunities. 

And right now, especially here in California, we have a lot of political power concentrated in the hands of big corporations and big money donors, and that's, I mean, we're seeing kind of the natural endpoint of what that means. And what it means is that we have stuff like AI being pushed into public schools and causing kids to commit suicide, and scraping authors information, and so we have to understand that there is a right, there is a wrong. We have to be willing to stand up and say that even if it isn't politically popular at the time, even if it does cost us big money donors, because if we just accede to the big money donors, well, then again, we're not really a democracy now. We're an oligarchy. 

KABAS: And speaking of money, what is your approach to fundraising for your campaign? How do you plan on generating enough money to support a campaign while remaining true to your values?

KLUWE: So obviously I hope to get lots of small money donors and get a lot of different people donating, because that shows that there is interest from a broad segment of the population. And so far, I think we're over 600 unique contributions in the first couple days of the campaign, which is a really good start. That being said, I'm more than happy to take corporations money with the caveat that they know up front I'm going to use that money to overturn Citizens United. Because that is one of the biggest problems facing our political system right now. And if a corporation is willing to confront that and say, ‘hey, you know what, this is a problem,’ or ‘we'll work with you to fix this,; then, yeah, I'll work with them to help fix it. But if they're going to be like, Oh, we're giving you this money in order to have our voice be heard louder than someone else's, no, fuck off.

KABAS: Your assembly district is currently represented by a Republican, but we've seen as recently as Tuesday in Iowa that flips are very much possible right now. So how do you plan to flip a district?

KLUWE: Here in Southern California, in this district in particular—I grew up in Seal Beach, which is part of the district—and I know a lot of the people here really just don't want to have to care about politics, right? They want a government that works. They want a government that isn't very visible. And they just want to go about their day and try to have a good life. And in this district, about 30% of it is Independent/no party preference. And most of the time those people just don't show up to vote. They're like, oh well, neither party really represents me. So the way to win this district is to give the Democratic people in the district a reason to vote, which means fighting for things that are important for our democracy, and then convincing the Independent/no party preference people that, hey, this is the time I need you to show up.

KABAS: Social media is obviously an essential tool for any modern political campaign. You are no stranger to that medium and using it for maximum impact. So what role do you see social media playing in your campaign?

KLUWE: Obviously social media is going to play a big role because that is kind of the public square now. It's where people hang out, and it's where a lot of people get their news. And I think the important thing is recognizing that I do have a fairly large social media presence on Bluesky, but that's not the only social media platform. We need to reach young people where they're at, which means Tiktok, which means Instagram to a lesser extent, and and recognizing the fact that as the methods of engaging with the public square changes, then we have to be willing to go to those new places if we want to speak with potential voters, if we want them to hear our message. 

That's not to say that I'm not going to be knocking on doors or making calls, because that's also a really big part of campaigning, like making that physical contact with people. But I do think social media does play a very large part.

KABAS: Speaking of Bluesky, that's how we know each other. I posted that I was interviewing you and that I was open to suggestions for questions to ask, so here are a few. One, will you become a Kings fan if you get elected and need to spend time in Sacramento?

KLUWE: So the funny thing is, I'm not actually a sports fan. I just really like playing sports. That's been the case my entire life. People are always like, who's your favorite team? I'm like, I don't really watch sports! I don’t have a favorite team. I am hoping, though, if I do get elected, I really hope they have an Adult Soccer League in Sacramento where I can go play soccer on the weekends.

KABAS: So there's gonna be a top prospect in Sacramento if you get elected.

KLUWE: If anyone needs a goalie or center back, yeah.

KABAS: What are you currently reading, and what is next on your bookshelf?

KLUWE: So I’m currently reading a bunch of stories on Royal Road. I am a huge nerd, sci-fi/fantasy fan. Royal Road is a website where people write their own self-published stories, and then occasionally they do get picked up and published. On a Pale Light is one story. The Tales of William O is another one. 

For what's next—actually, let me go grab that real quick. [Kluwe walks out of frame to grab a book and comes back with it.] So this one I'm actually looking forward to. It's called Legal Plunder. A guy who grew up in Huntington Beach and lives in Minnesota, Josh Page, he's one of the co-authors on this. He's a professor at University of Minnesota, and basically it's about the predatory aspects of the criminal justice system. 

KABAS: And then the last question—which I don't at all understand what it means—”Contrast or Speedpaint?”

KLUWE: I actually don't know what that one is either. 

KABAS: Wow!

KLUWE: I'm gonna have to ask that person. That's too much internet, even for me. 

KABAS: I didn't realize there was a level, but we found it.