came up with the idea<\/a> for the MAGA plaque. The other candidates include Republican Matthew Harper, a former state assembly member, and independent Frank Wagoner.<\/p>\nA Democrat hasn\u2019t won the seat in more than 30 years, but the district has occasionally tilted blue in statewide elections. If there is a blue wave in the midterms, it could help down-ballot candidates like Kluwe, if he makes it past the primary.<\/p>\n
Yet for all his ideological principles, Kluwe comes across as a wonky pragmatist when discussing his platform, stressing affordability, mixed-use development and walkable neighborhoods. If elected, he said, he\u2019ll strive to streamline the process that allows developers to build houses in California, push for investment into public transportation and work toward a \u201cholistic solution, so people can afford to live near where they work \u2026 a thriving place that is a community.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Kluwe talks about potential modifications to the California Environmental Quality Act (a 1970 statute often cited by local officials as an impediment to creating housing) and incentivizing developers on a statewide level by reducing the amount of time it takes to get their dwellings approved and built, his pitch hardly sounds revolutionary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not calling for, like, full-bore gay space communism \u2014 as much as I love science fiction novels,\u201d Kluwe said, smiling. \u201cWe can work together to lift each other up and to make sure that everyone has the same opportunities I had as a kid. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s too much to ask for.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Kluwe\u2019s most conspicuous supporters has been Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, whose district is just north of Huntington Beach.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s learning a ton about policymaking and the way politics works, but he\u2019s approaching it so differently,\u201d Garcia said of Kluwe. \u201cHe just wants to help people. When I\u2019ve heard him speak to groups, he talks a ton about teamwork and hard work and what that means to him. He has deep values and wants to make the community better \u2026 and in this moment really wants to stand up for folks and push back on what he sees as abuses by the government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether Kluwe will get that chance remains to be seen. District 72 has more registered Republicans than Democrats, but Kluwe, while decidedly the underdog, believes he has a punter\u2019s chance to win come November. Before that, he\u2019ll have to do well enough in California\u2019s June 2 primary, a \u201cjungle\u201d format that elevates the top two vote-getters to a general-election runoff, regardless of party affiliation.<\/p>\n
As the sole Democrat in the four-candidate field, Kluwe thinks he has a good shot of advancing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019ll translate incredibly well as he campaigns, and as he governs,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cThis is a very swing type of seat; it\u2019s one (that requires a candidate) to appeal to all types of folks \u2014 regardless of whether someone is a Democrat or an Independent or a Republican. He can (have) mass appeal, because he is really authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not everyone, of course, is receptive to Kluwe\u2019s message. As perhaps the second-most renowned punter of his era \u2014 Kluwe said he received encouragement from future ESPN personality Pat McAfee, then a Colts punter, when he spoke up for same-sex marriage in 2012 \u2014 he is used to getting blowback, whether it\u2019s related to directional kicking or civil disobedience.<\/p>\n
![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-859446456-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Chris Kluwe joins a small group of protestors outside the Pelican Hill Country Club in 2017. (Robyn Beck \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Kluwe\u2019s once quiet existence in \u201cSurf City USA\u201d has become far choppier. After losing his job as a freshman football coach at Huntington Beach\u2019s Edison High School following his arrest and subsequent social media posts, Kluwe filed a federal lawsuit against the school district. It has yet to be resolved. He has been showing up at weekly protests outside city hall, mostly assisting with security, and will likely start canvassing and going door-to-door to speak to voters sometime this month. He plays in a pair of adult soccer leagues and, as the father of two teenagers with his wife, Isabel, has a busy and fulfilling life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to go back to being happily retired, because I worked really hard to get there,\u201d Kluwe said as the family\u2019s 6-year-old rescue dog, Jenny, believed to be a mix of terrier and chihuahua, barked up a storm at his feet. \u201cBut I\u2019m also not going to watch my country go down the drain and not try to do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, referencing Franklin Delano Roosevelt\u2019s 12-plus-year stint as president, Kluwe laid out an idyllic vision that bridged his former career with what he hopes will be his next one.<\/p>\n
\u201cDemocratic Socialism has worked in America,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we look out for each other, when we bring each other up, then everyone succeeds and thrives.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hear in the football locker room all the time: A rising tide lifts all boats. And usually, they\u2019re telling it to receivers who are upset \u2018cause they\u2019re not getting enough catches, and they\u2019re asking them to do blocking routes. I\u2019m not opposed to some people making more than others. It\u2019s just, make sure you\u2019re lifting everyone else up while you\u2019re doing it. So that way, we all have a chance to thrive and prosper.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. \u2014 For eight years, Chris Kluwe plied his trade by trotting onto the field on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[7,233,259,2529,6,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-856632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-minnesota","10":"tag-minnesota-vikings","11":"tag-minnesotavikings","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116357105597801158","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}