Turns Out a Bear May Not Be the Ideal Political Sidekick in 2021

It might be illegal or it might be bearable

John Cox
John Cox and friend on the campaign trail.
John Cox

John Cox is no stranger to politics. He was the Republican nominee for governor in California in 2018, though he lost to Gavin Newsom in a statewide election that year. Before that, Cox ran for office in Illinois, explored a Presidential run and was behind some attention-grabbing legislative initiative. With the prospect of a recall election looming in California this year, Cox is again throwing his hat in the ring — and this time, as the saying goes, he brought company.

Except that’s where things get a little complicated, as “company” in this case means a 1,000 pound Kodiak bear. And it turns out that bringing a half-ton bear on the campaign trail is a little more complicated than it can seem.

Some context here: Cox’s campaign has put forth the notion of him as the “beast” to Newsom’s “beauty,” and has embraced various permutations of “beast” on social media and in press releases. This has gone beyond rhetoric, however, with a literal beast — i.e. the bear, named Tag — showing up at a number of Cox’s campaign stops.

The Guardian reports that Cox has run afoul of a San Diego law preventing anyone other than zoos from bringing animals like bears into the city. According to the article, the San Diego Humane Society is currently investigating. For their part, Cox’s campaign argues that everything is on the level. “Every care was taken to ensure Tag’s comfort and safety with the approval of several government agencies,” said the campaign via a statement.

Admittedly, animal appearances at political events tend to make for good press – see also, the time a bird landed on Bernie Sanders’s lectern in 2016 — but most involve relatively manageably-sized creatures rather than ones capable of devouring one of the people in attendance.

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