Bruce Jenner comes out as a transgender conservative Republican

In an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer which aired Friday night, former track and field Olympian Bruce Jenner acknowledged for the first time that he was a transgender American.

“Yes, for all intents and purposes, I’m a woman,” Jenner told Sawyer on ABC News’ “20/20.”

The more shocking revelation for many, however, was Jenner’s admission that in addition to identifying as a woman, he also identified as a conservative Republican.

“Are you a Republican?” a stunned Sawyer asked the former patriarch of the Jenner-Kardashian household. “Yeah,” Jenner reticently responded. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Neither political party has a monopoly on understanding,” Jenner told Sawyer, who advised him to ask Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner for help championing the cause of transgender people.

“I would do that, in a heartbeat,” Jenner retorted. “Yeah, why not?”

At least one Republican group didn’t wait for Jenner to reach out to them before welcoming him with open arms: The Log Cabin Republicans.

Log Cabin Republicans National Executive Director Gregory T. Angelo released this statement following tonight’s interview:

As the nation’s only organization representing LGBT conservatives and straight allies, Log Cabin Republicans congratulates Bruce Jenner in the tremendous courage he demonstrated tonight, being true to himself both in terms of his personal identity as well as his political identity. There is a home for you in Log Cabin Republicans — as there is for all lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender conservatives and straight allies.