By Emma Goad, Staff Writer
A rundown of socialist candidate Ramsey Robinson, who will be on the ballot for California governor in 2026.
School social worker Ramsey Robinson is running for governor of California in the upcoming 2026 election. Robinson will be running as a socialist as part of the Peace and Freedom party, and the policies that he is running on will seek to benefit the working class and minority groups in California. Robinson is a dedicated mental health social worker, organizer, and revolutionary based in San Francisco. He is a graduate from California State University, Los Angeles, where he earned his master’s in social work. Robinson’s work has been rooted in fighting for collective liberation, and he has spent years organizing alongside oppressed communities to challenge systemic inequalities. Some of his most noble work consists of co-organizing the speak-out for Sawandi Toussaint—a young African American man who was gunned down in El Monte, leading the national ‘Shut ‘Em Down’ campaign which mobilized 60 activists and community members to demand freedom for political prisoners, and volunteering as a youth mentor, where he provides guidance to foster youth who are transitioning to independent living.
The platforms Robinson is most focused on and emphasizes during his campaign are healthcare, housing, education, the economy, social justice, and the environment. For healthcare, Robinson wants to implement a free universal single-payer healthcare system for all Californians, which would cover everything from dental and vision to mental health and reproductive care, regardless of immigration status. He has stated “healthcare should never depend on your wallet. It’s time to guarantee care–full stop.” For housing, he wants to guarantee universal access to housing, ban corporate landlords, and establish rent control and tenant protections statewide, emphasizing how housing is “for people, not for profit”. For education, he is running on fully funding public education from preschool through college, promising universal childcare and Pre-K, and making all public colleges, trade schools, and job retaining programs free. His economic policy consists of taxing the rich, abolishing billionaires, and raising the minimum wage up to 30 dollars an hour. His desires for social justice entails ending the militarization of police and delivering full reparations for slavery, Jim Crow, and ongoing economic exclusion of minority groups. Robinson emphasizes how capitalism leads to negative impacts on the environment and how through prioritizing profit over sustainability, capitalist systems often encourage short term gains over long-term ecological health, leading to the exploitation of natural resources and environmental degradation. He has been quoted saying “capitalism set the planet on fire,” and intends to fix this by abolishing private utilities and building a statewide public energy system, ensuring free renewable energy for every household.
In a California where billionaires dictate the terms, Ramsey Robinson’s campaign provides hope for the many, not the few. His unwavering commitment to healthcare for all, free education, and a progressive economic system is a blueprint for a state where everyone can thrive. As he says, “we’re building a movement that says we won’t be bought, we won’t back down.” With Robinson’s grassroots energy and vision, California can see major growth and progress within the next few years.