A week after Lance Armstrong announced his retirement from competitive cycling, the seven-time Tour de France winner is coming to California today on a political tour – to push for a ballot initiative that would add $1 a pack to cigarettes to raise money for cancer research.

“Cancer doesn’t care if you’re Republican or Democrat, rich or poor, young or old,” Armstrong said in an interview.

The cyclist, who became a cancer activist and fundraiser after his battle with testicular cancer – a challenge chronicled in his best-selling memoir, “It’s Not About the Bike” – is co-chairing the California Cancer Research Act. The ballot measure is sponsored by former state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, another cancer survivor.