THE HONORABLE NINA TURNER ENDORSES DR. BUTCH WARE FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Valielza Huynh-O’Keefe, BW4G
Phone: (702) 686-4178
Email: press@butchware4gov.org
Website: butchware4gov.org
THE HONORABLE NINA TURNER ENDORSES DR. BUTCH WARE FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA
Turner Crosses Democratic Party Lines to Endorse Green Party Candidate
SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, January 27, 2026—The Honorable Nina Turner, former Cleveland City Council member and Ohio state senator, founder of We Are Somebody and progressive thought leader, endorsed Dr. Rudolph Butch Ware for governor of California in 2026 during a virtual public forum on January 27th. There is no precedent in U.S. history for such an endorsement from a major name in the Democratic Party crossing party lines and endorsing a Green Party candidate.
“We need a coalition politic that says this is bigger whether you identify as a Democrat, Republican, or Green,” Turner said, prefacing her formal endorsement of Butch Ware, stressing the need to leave partisan politics behind. “If you identify as a human being that believes in liberation, then you are our people. And that is the only way that we are going to be able to break up the duopoly that does not care,” referring to the Democratic and Republican parties.
This speaks to the increasing number of American voters that are identifying as independent, which Gallup reported in January 2026 is at a record high of 45%. When asked about how he viewed the current political moment, Dr. Butch Ware noted “We need to transform this moment of crisis for us into a movement that produces a moment of crisis for our oppressors.”
Trump’s approval ratings, according to Gallup, have hit a low of 36% and reflect voters’ dissatisfaction with the GOP-led government. This, in tandem with sharp shifts towards Democrats in districts that previously voted for Trump, sets the stage for a major upset in the 2026 midterms. This could allow for further victories on the left, such as democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s historic win against establishment politicians in New York City.
Turner stressed that California voters can set a nationwide precedent: “You have got to not delude yourself that the lesser of two evils isn’t still evil,” Turner said, addressing the common assumption that voting for either the Democratic and Republican parties is choosing the lesser of two evils, which precludes the possibility of voting third party. She added “In the great state of California, you don’t have to choose the lesser of the two evils. Because you have a champion in Dr. Butch Ware, whose platform is a humanitarian platform for all people.”
About Butch Ware for California Governor 2026
Dr. Rudolph “Butch” Ware is running for Governor of California with the Green Party. He is a longtime organizer and movement builder, and is a tenured professor of African and Islamic history at University of California, Santa Barbara. He ran as the Vice Presidential candidate alongside Jill Stein in the 2024 U.S. Presidential election. His campaign is fully grassroots and does not accept corporate or super PAC donations. His platform includes guaranteed affordable housing, single payer healthcare, free community and state colleges for California residents, fully funded and expanded public transit, and more.
Website: https://www.butchware4gov.org/
Instagram: @butchware
Twitter: @ButchWare
Facebook: ButchWare4Gov2026
###