{"id":2194,"date":"2026-05-18T12:01:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/livingforgod-to-barack-obama-shaw-meet-the-overlooked-hopefuls-for-governor\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T12:01:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:01:43","slug":"livingforgod-to-barack-obama-shaw-meet-the-overlooked-hopefuls-for-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/livingforgod-to-barack-obama-shaw-meet-the-overlooked-hopefuls-for-governor\/","title":{"rendered":"LivingForGod to Barack Obama Shaw: Meet the overlooked hopefuls for governor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LivingforGod AndCountry DeMott \u2014 yes, that\u2019s his real name \u2014 doesn\u2019t remember when exactly he decided to run for California governor.<\/p>\n

Read more Giants outslug A\u2019s behind Casey Schmitt to even West Sacramento series at 1-1<\/a><\/p>\n

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The interdenominational chaplain has no campaign to speak of in his hometown of Redding. No staff, no political party, no social media presence and no budget beyond the $10,000 personal loan he took out to help get his name on the ballot.<\/p>\n

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Still, as better-known candidates pour millions of dollars into the race, DeMott, the former owner of a Northern California pest control empire, and several dozen other low-profile gubernatorial hopefuls are betting they can defy the odds and pull off a June 2 primary day miracle.<\/p>\n

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Only two candidates, regardless of party, will advance from the primary that includes 61 names. DeMott plans to be one of them.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf I get in the top two, then the race would really start,\u201d DeMott said in an interview.<\/p>\n

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California has been a magnet for unorthodox political leaders at least since 1859, when San Francisco resident Joshua Abraham Norton anointed himself \u201cEmperor of these United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

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If ever there was a year for an upset, this is it. A month out from the primary, there\u2019s still no clear frontrunner. Even the highest polling candidates, like Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra, struggle to clear 20% support in most surveys.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s left a hypothetical opening for dreamers willing to splash out the $4,918.58 filing fee \u2014 or find 6,000 signatures \u2014 that were required to appear on this year\u2019s ballot.<\/p>\n

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There are a dizzying amount of options for the adventurous voter. Ballots include 24 Democrats (including at least two, Eric Swalwell and Betty Yee, who have suspended their campaigns), a dozen Republicans, one Libertarian Party member, one representative of the socialist Peace and Freedom Party and 23 candidates labeled as \u201cno party preference.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That last camp includes Anne Komarovsk, a Malibu antitax activist who said she\u2019s aiming to become the state\u2019s first nonpartisan governor. Komarovsk said she\u2019ll be a moderating voice in an era of fierce partisanship, or as she calls it, \u201cpolitical gang violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Komarovsk is campaigning largely through her YouTube channel, where Komarovsk discusses current events, her affection for the $2 bill or queries AI \u2014 or what she calls \u201cangel intelligence mode\u201d \u2014 made about the meaning of the 2015 film \u201cCell.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Then there are candidates here for the larger struggle, like Margaret Trowe of the Socialist Workers Party. Trowe, who works in housekeeping at a hotel in Berkeley, has spent decades in the labor movement and sees a capitalist system that\u2019s nearing its breaking point.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe working class is really getting hammered,\u201d Trowe said. \u201cI believe there will be a socialist revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

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She stressed that the coming \u201cAmerican revolution\u201d would be nonviolent \u2014 \u201ca mass movement of millions of workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Republican Randeep Dhillon is taking a different tack with social media videos featuring his MACA slogan: \u201cMake affordable California again.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The economist and business owner may be the only candidate in the race to film a promotional video in a cemetery, where he promised that as governor, his office would cover up to $15,000 in funeral expenses. In another clip, he says his administration would subsidize the sales tax and registration payments for the first car for high schoolers who maintain a GPA of 3.87.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Dr. Randeep S. Dhillon (@dhillonforgovernor)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Dhillon said he moved to the U.S. at age 19 and said he has several advanced degrees and a business empire of convenience stores and gas stations, but English is not his first language \u2014 perhaps a contributing factor in the virality of his social media posts, he said. Still, the attention they\u2019ve garnered boosted his confidence headed into the primary.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf the election is today, I\u2019m winning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Some of the candidates, like Los Angeles entrepreneur Max Fomin, have heard from naysayers who believe they can\u2019t win. Fomin\u2019s skeptics include his brother, his parents and his ex-wife.<\/p>\n

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But Fomin is betting fortune favors the bold. In his campaign statement, distributed in voter guides mailed to Californians, he vows to \u201csuffocate homelessness, assassinate unemployment, nuke crime, house the unhoused, prosecute corruption, generate $.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf you read anyone else\u2019s message, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s as clear or precise as mine,\u201d he told The Bee.<\/p>\n

Read more Giants slug past A\u2019s in gusty series finale behind Harrison Bader\u2019s grand slam<\/a><\/p>\n

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Fomin\u2019s top priority is to criminalize homelessness and set up what he calls \u201creservations\u201d with tight security. Residents would get psychiatric treatment if they needed it, showers and mandatory work. Fomin, who himself lived out of a van for around a year, conceded the plan \u201cmight sound a little extreme\u201d but argues residents will \u201cfeel rejuvenated each time they take a shower.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Other candidates share Fomin\u2019s critique, if not his tone.<\/p>\n

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Republican Rafael Hernandez argues \u201cthe whole system is broken\u201d in California and would work to address homelessness, albeit with a sunnier spin.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m going to make it the greatest state with lots of jobs, peace and respect for everybody,\u201d Hernandez said.<\/p>\n

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Hernandez grew up on his grandfather\u2019s ranch outside Mexico City and moved to the U.S. as an adult, later gaining citizenship and managing operations at gas stations. Now retired, Hernandez may be the field\u2019s snazziest dresser, favoring bold patterned-shirts with spread collars, blazers that pop and the occasional cowboy hat.<\/p>\n

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