California’s gubernatorial race is packed with seasoned officeholders, deep-pocketed candidates, and high-profile politicians who want the chance to lead the state. It is also home to what may be the most unintentionally entertaining ballot in America.Among the 61 candidates running in the state’s wide-open governor’s race is Barack D. Obama Shaw — not to be confused with former President Barack Obama, a distinction Shaw apparently has to make often.The Alameda resident legally changed his name to Barack Obama in 2013 after becoming inspired by the former president and is now running for governor as a Democrat. His full ballot name: Barack D. Obama Shaw.
The unusual candidacy has already produced at least one memorable campaign moment.
While campaigning on a street corner in Alameda earlier this spring, Shaw was confronted by a middle-aged man who climbed out of his pickup truck, grabbed the candidate’s microphone, and yelled: “You’re not Barack Obama. You’re a fraud!”
The accusation, while technically accurate, did little to shake Shaw’s confidence, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
A tall music teacher with a slight Texas accent and a salt-and-pepper mustache, Shaw insists he has a legitimate path to victory despite competing against nationally known figures and candidates with millions of dollars in campaign cash.
