William Brown Jr., a Libertarian, is running for California’s 12th State Senate District in November 2026 against Republican Nathan Magsig, becoming only the second Libertarian candidate to reach a California general election under the state’s top-two primary system after finishing second with about 26% of the primary vote. A Florida native who came to California through the Marine Corps, Brown deployed six times, including four combat deployments supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. He holds dual bachelor’s degrees from Arizona State University, a master’s in social work from USC, and an MBA from West Texas A&M University, and now works as a licensed clinical social worker, including as a contract mental health clinician for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
A registered Libertarian for six years after evolving from a Ron Paul-style Republican into what he describes as a “Never Trump,” LGBTQ-supportive conservative, Brown ran unsuccessfully for a State Assembly seat in 2024 and describes his Senate campaign as a continuation of that effort. He has campaigned on individual liberty, fiscal responsibility, and skepticism of “bloated bureaucracies,” and has been endorsed by the Libertarian Party of California and Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte.
