On the Campaign Trail

ON THE CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN TRAIL '26: NOTES FROM SEAN FORBES
DAY TEN: January 3, 2026
LOCATION: Long Beach, CA
WEATHER: 60°F (Raining)

The United States government has initiated another regime change, burdening the people of California, who never consented to this action, with the consequences of MAGA policies. The majority of funds spent on this endeavor will come from California, and most casualties on the American side will involve Californians who were not consulted. Trump has openly stated his intention to run Venezuela, indicating an impending occupation.

ON THE CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN TRAIL '26: NOTES FROM SEAN FORBES
DAY NINE: January 1, 2026 (Happy New Year)
LOCATION: Seal Beach, CA
WEATHER: 61°F (Mostly Clear)

The New Year holiday brings a mix of optimism and cynicism, as many resolutions often fade away. However, our Governor campaign is committed to a resolution that will create real change in California throughout 2026. We aim to present a clear alternative to the political options available.

Our priorities for California include:

DAY EIGHT: December 25, 2025 (Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays)
LOCATION: San Pedro, CA
WEATHER: 63°F (Mostly Cloudy)

The Christmas season can be a time of both joy and stress, often mixed with feelings of sorrow for those we've lost. For many, the emotional overload can lead to a sense of relief when the last gathering is over and the New Year begins. During this emotionally charged time, society should strive to alleviate, rather than add to, the burdens of the holidays. However, as I write this, we face a turbulent climate of poor economic policies, pervasive corruption, and the looming threat of another unjustified war.

The primary responsibility of any government, at both state and national levels, is to improve people's lives. Unfortunately, we often see indifference or, worse, the actions of bad faith actors who make life more difficult.

ON THE CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN TRAIL '26: NOTES FROM SEAN FORBES
DAY SEVEN: October 31, 2025 (Happy Halloween?)
LOCATION: Lone Pine, CA
WEATHER: 77°F (Clear)

While moments of fun and cheer are welcome, today marks another chapter in the slow unraveling of the United States. Just like the White House's eastern wing, which has disappeared, the idea of responsible government is crumbling. Democrats rightly blame Republicans for the ongoing shutdown, which shows no end in sight—stemming from the Senate majority's refusal to negotiate with the minority. This political stalemate threatens to erase key principles of governance, either through the destruction of the filibuster (as Trump bluntly suggested) or continued deadlock.

The filibuster—requiring sixty votes—has always struck me as an awkward tradition, not enshrined in the Constitution but a mechanism for balancing minority interests. While sometimes representing poor interests (like segregationists) or noble ones (like protecting working families from excessive premiums), it was fundamentally about fostering limited consensus.

Requiring 60 votes isn't ideal, but the principle behind it—some minority rights—was sound. Minority concerns should be acknowledged, even if we disagree with them. The filibuster isn't perfect, but it symbolizes that smaller groups deserve a voice in governance.

Currently, even that token respect is absent in California's one-party system, dominated by Democrats who impose a one-size-fits-all approach. In places like Lone Pine and Inyo County, this fails spectacularly, as coastal residents or Sacramento bureaucrats often have no idea how to manage local issues. The voters there, not aligned with MAGA ideology, have shown their independence through elections—Biden's 2020 win and Trump's narrow 2024 victory. Yet, they lack proper representation.

We need a new state constitutional convention to reform the system—one that respects minority voices and grants local control, leading to better governance.

ON THE CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN TRAIL '26: NOTES FROM SEAN FORBES
DAY SIX: September 23rd, 2025
LOCATION: San Pedro, CA
WEATHER: 81°F (Cloudy)

War with Venezuela? A mass movement of enforced mourning and policing over comments about Horst Wessel, Charlie Kirk? The FCC silencing a late-night show over meaningless remarks about MAGA and their reaction to Kirk?

Prices continue to skyrocket; farmers are going bankrupt; Tylenol is blamed for autism; the UN is held hostage and lectured by a child rapist about green energy and migrant workers. Gas and groceries are up, and unemployment is rising.

Google searches for mortgage help are through the roof.

NATO just convened again over Russian incursions into Polish airspace.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Are we not done with the wheel of history yet? How much more can Californians endure for something most did not agree to? How much nonsense, tragedy, ugliness, and despair must we face daily? What's next?

We all wonder.

What could possibly happen next? Is there any hope or optimism left?

ON THE CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN TRAIL '26: NOTES FROM SEAN FORBES

DAY FIVE: September 10th, 2025

LOCATION: San Diego, CA

WEATHER: 75°F (Clear)

The death of Charlie Kirk weighs heavily on everyone's mind. There is no place in a civilized society for someone to come out and shoot a man in front of a crowd—especially in front of a young family who witnessed it—over politics. His death should invoke universal horror and revulsion, not necessarily because of his passing, but because of what it signifies: a democracy teetering on the brink of collapse.

We, the living, will soon face a world where talk shows, politicians, and both paid and unpaid commentators will have to ask themselves if they are targets. With passions already inflamed by anger, there is no simple retreat or cooling off.

There is also no room in a thoughtful society to ignore the karmic repercussions that have now come home to roost for Mr. Kirk.

ON THE CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN TRAIL '26: NOTES FROM SEAN FORBES

DAY THREE: August 26th, 2025

LOCATION: Long Beach, CA

WEATHER: 79°F (Clear)

The thought that we are in a "Cold Civil War" hangs over this entire campaign. We are well beyond normal politics at this point; we are far beyond any hope of reconciliation with a federal government that is under the control of what was perhaps flippantly called a "vast right-wing conspiracy."

We are in danger — from ICE gangs, the dismantling of anything of worth from the federal government, and a commander-in-chief who is a rapist and pedophile. Due process and elections, the cornerstones of the old Republic, are being removed from the entire structure.

I've been uncomfortable but able to face facts. We face two enemies — one tangible, one intangible. The Republican Party is an organized criminal organization larger and more entrenched than any Mafia that has ever infested this country. As governor, that is the North Star of governance: the Republicans are the enemy. A fetish for a past that never truly existed is also an enemy.

If you step out of line, you'll face a permanent vacation to El Salvador or Uganda. Don't want to live in a country where you can be bankrupted and ruined for being sick? Want to live in peace? Don't want a kid to die overseas? Don't like people constantly taking advantage of each other? Well, in the United States, you won't be able to do all these things. Because at least 80 million of your neighbors would rather live in a revenge-fantasy than in a community of equals.

ON THE CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN TRAIL '26: NOTES FROM SEAN FORBES
DAY TWO: August 20th, 2025
LOCATION: Long Beach, CA
WEATHER: 83°F (Clear)

So, why run? What's the point of all this? Aside from the fact that there's no adult in the room to clean this up for us—and our Governor, supposed to be our chief defender of the California community, is doing nothing but pushing no-work jobs for Democrats in Congress—what is this really about?

Honestly, when it comes down to it, it's mostly a reaction to the last 25 years. It's a vague, lingering feeling.

We know Congress is bought. Maybe it's AIPAC, or maybe it's just good old American insiders and brownshirts working for causes we can't even begin to reconcile.

Perhaps it's simply that we've seen a steady erosion of anything genuinely unique or true about America—the sick feeling that we were signed up for a bad mission the moment we were born.

Think about someone old enough to vote, drink, and smoke. What has their life been—9/11, economic collapse, Trump, Biden, Trump again? We all know this isn't the life we're meant to live, yet somehow we're expected to accept this as normal. Troops in Washington for show, kidnapping gangs organized by the elected central government, a state that ranks higher than Germany but can't fix a pothole or house a person without overcharging them.

ON THE CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN TRAIL '26: NOTES FROM SEAN FORBES

DAY ONE: August 19th, 2025

LOCATION: Long Beach, CA

WEATHER: 81°F (Clear)

It's a very surreal thing to run for Governor. The cliché of looking for an adult in the room to fix this is always in the back of my mind. There's got to be someone who can maybe not fix everything, per se, but at least restore some sense of normal life (as least as I've known it at age 42). Someone who can just come in and say, "This is all a bunch of nonsense; let's all settle down, and you just deal with the everyday BS. I got this."

There has to be someone who can handle this heavy work. I'm not really anything special, except that my B.S. detector is pretty well on point. I don't have daddy issues forcing me to sell my soul to the lowest bidder, and I didn't have a terrible high school experience where I'm desperate for popularity. I just wish for some leadership; I suppose most Californians want that too.