Santa Barbara, California - Dr. Rudolph "Butch" Ware, the Green Party's 2024 vice-presidential nominee, has announced he is running to become the next governor of California.

"11/11 11:11 I hereby officially announce my candidacy for Governor of the State of California," Ware posted on X.

"Election Day is 11/3/26. We need your support to make our political institutions actually serve ALL the people for the first time in the history of the US," he continued, adding, "It starts here. The Sun rises in the West."

2024 Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein tapped Ware – a UC Santa Barbara associate professor and historian of Africa and Islam – as her running mate on August 16. The following day, they went on to win their party's nomination in a landslide vote.

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Together, the duo waged a White House campaign centered on ending the genocide in Palestine. Their platform called for divesting from militarism and imperialism and addressing the overlapping American crises of poverty, racism, and climate collapse – including through reparations for Black Americans, a stated priority for Ware.

In the campaign's final town hall before Election Day, Ware affirmed his commitment to building the movement for people, planet, and peace beyond November 5, 2024. "This movement is not just what the United States of America needs, but the world needs a United States of America that has responsible governance at the head of it," he said.

Ware previously announced his intent to run for governor of the Golden State during appearances on Glenn Greenwald's System Update and Marc Lamont Hill's Night School.

California's current governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, is in his second term and not eligible for reelection in 2026.