SACRAMENTO, CA – A proposal brought forth by a Democratic assemblymember before the California State Senate’s Elections Committee seeking to bar registered sex offenders from running for public office was shot down by her fellow Democrats earlier in June, with Committee Chairman Scott Wiener vocally opposing the proposal’s broad scope.
On June 30th, the California State Senate's Elections Committee upended a proposal introduced by Democratic Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria to bar registered sex offenders from running for public office. Reportedly, Assemblywoman Soria introduced the aforementioned proposal after Rene Campos, a registered sex offender who pleaded no contest to possession of child sex abuse materials (CSAM) in 2018, made a failed run for Fresno City Council earlier in 2026.
Assemblywoman Soria’s proposal sought to bar all of the three tiers of registered sex offenders from running for public office, which Sen. Wiener reportedly expressed concerns over and voted against the measure as he wanted the prohibition to be exclusive to Tier 3 registered sex offenders.
For context on the offenses under Tiers 1 and 2, registered sex offenders could harbor convictions ranging from possession of CSAM under Tier 1 and forcible penetration with a foreign object under Tier 2.
Assemblywoman Soria refused to give ground on her proposal, later issuing a statement on the matter expressing her disappointment over her Democratic colleagues failing to advance what she sees as common sense legislation.
“I am deeply disappointed and disheartened after the Senate Elections Committee has failed to advance AB 2753, a bill that would have prohibited any registered sex offender in the State of California from running for local or state public office,” Assemblywoman Soria stated.
The assemblywoman’s statement referenced the debacle from earlier in 2026 with Campos’ failed run for public office, saying, “The bottom line is this: I was not willing to make additional amendments to this bill. I made a promise to my community that I would do everything in my power to ensure they would never have to go through something like this again. Accepting additional amendments to this bill would have jeopardized that promise.”
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