California businessman Ron Unz officially announced his candidacy for the state’s 2016 U.S. Senate race last week in order to voice his opposition to California’s bilingual education program.
The primary motivation behind Unz’s long shot candidacy in the heavily Democratic state is to put a halt to efforts that would repeal a statute —passed by referendum in 1998 with 58 percent of the vote — that switched the default language in California schools from bilingual education to English immersion.
In 2014, the California legislature voted to put a measure on the 2016 ballot that would give voters the opportunity to overturn the results of that referendum.
Unz, who ran for governor in 1994, made the decision to get in the race based solely on the legislature’s efforts to repeal the 1998 statue that he helped author.
“Believe me, this was a last-minute decision,” said Unz in an interview with the Sacramento Bee. “I never considered getting back into California politics.”
While Unz is running as a Republican, he had sharp words for Republican members of the state assembly who joined Democrats in voting to put the new measure on the ballot, saying that their willingness to aide in the effort “…just shows how worthless the Republicans are.”
He added that their actions were “just the sort of total idiocy that explains the disgust most voters have with the establishment politicians of both parties.”
Unz admits that making it to the general election will be an uphill battle but views his presence in the race as a good way to raise awareness of the negative impact that bilingual education would have on California students.
“I think it’s a long shot for me or any of the Republicans to make it into the general election under a top-two system. It’s a possibility,” he said. “And at the very least it gives me an opportunity to raise a lot issues that basically a lot of these other politicians don’t talk about."
Unz is one three Republicans candidates hoping to fill the seat being vacated by Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer.