In a new low for the state of California, a registered child sex offender, Rene Campos, has announced his candidacy for the Fresno City Council. If elected, he would become the first convicted sex offender elected to office in the Golden State. Campos urged voters to overlook his criminal record, which includes charges for possession of child sexual abuse material.
Rene Campos, a literal registered s*x offender who was charged for possession of child p**n, is running for Fresno City Council
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 25, 2026
Wtf is going on in California pic.twitter.com/YfHxPoXDD3
🚨 HOLY SMOKES. Gavin Newsom's California is now barreling towards electing its FIRST registered s*x offender to a city council in Fresno
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 26, 2026
"Let's choose somebody outside the box...me? I've experienced the laws we're trying to reform."
GET OUT OF CA!pic.twitter.com/EGC46GuYTy
"I believe Fresno deserves leaders that are honest from the very beginning, not the end. So going into this, I'm putting my life out there," Campos said. "I've been given the chance to rehabilitate through the courts and back into the system."
"So I say, let's choose somebody outside the box," he added. "Somebody who knows the system from inside out. Because me, I've experienced the laws that we are trying to reform right now."
Charged in 2018 with possession of child sexual abuse material, the Fresno native says he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor. He launched his campaign to represent District 7 on the Fresno City Council earlier this week, claiming his priority will be on safety for city residents.
Nav Gurm, a small business owner and attorney who is running for the same seat, blasted Campos for running despite his criminal record.
“I think it should be a disqualification to serve in public office," Gurm said. “If I’m the next councilmember in District 7 and I can’t show up to a school site, how can I best represent the people in the neighborhoods I want to serve?" He added that he has contacted state legislators in an effort to get them to introduce a bill that would bar registered sex offenders from running for office.
“It should be California law that if you are a registered sex offender, you can’t run for public office,” he added.
Fresno County Clerk and Registrar of Voters James Kus said that state law currently does not bar Campos from running for office:
“Once you leave prison, you’re on probation, you actually are allowed in California to reapply and become a registered voter again, which would then make you eligible to run as long as you’re living in the proper jurisdiction."