California Voter Guide Sparks Outrage After Candidate Pushes Anti Israel Charlie Kirk Conspiracy

California election officials are facing pressure from Jewish organizations after an official state voter guide included a governor candidate statement from Don J. Grundmann, a fringe right wing political figure who previously went viral for calling his organization a "totally peaceful racist group" during a 2019 Modesto City Council meeting.

The statement, published in California's official voter information guide for the June 2 primary, promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories, including false claims that Israel killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk and carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The guide identifies Grundmann as a candidate for governor with "no qualified party preference."

"Kirk murdered by shaped-charge bomb Israel used. Government knows," Grundmann wrote in the candidate statement, according to the version posted on the California Secretary of State's website. The statement also claims, without evidence, that Israeli "art students" wired the Twin Towers for a controlled demolition and that "Planes did NOT destroy towers. Israel did."

The 9/11 Commission concluded that the Sept. 11 attacks were carried out by al-Qaida, and U.S. authorities have charged Tyler Robinson in Kirk's killing. Prosecutors said Robinson left a note indicating he planned to kill Kirk; later confessed in text messages and was linked by DNA evidence to the rifle used in the shooting, according to AP.

The controversy is now centered not on Grundmann's chances in the governor's race, but on how his statement appeared in an official state publication mailed to voters and posted online by the office of California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. The state guide says candidate statements were supplied by candidates, paid for voluntarily, and "have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency."

Jewish groups, including the Jewish Community Action Network, the Jewish Federation of Orange County, the Anti-Defamation League of Orange County and Long Beach, and the Israeli American Council, protested in a letter to Weber this week, saying Grundmann's statement violated the state's own candidate guidelines. The groups said millions of California voters received an official state publication containing content that should have been disqualified.

"By including a statement containing antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in an official voter guide, the state has effectively provided a government platform for rhetoric that fuels division and undermines the safety and dignity of Jewish communities," the groups wrote, according to The Times of Israel.

Ilana Meirovitch, head of JCAN, said the issue was not whether Grundmann had the right to express extremist views, but whether those views belonged in a state-issued election document. "Let him spew his hate on social media, on the street corner, but not on government paper," she told The Times of Israel.

Grundmann is not new to controversy. In 2019, he appeared before the Modesto City Council as founder and director of the National Straight Pride Coalition while defending a planned "Straight Pride" event. During the meeting, he said, "We're a totally peaceful racist group," triggering laughter and jeers in the room. CBS News reported at the time that the city later denied the group's permit, citing safety concerns and lack of insurance.

The backlash lands as California prepares for a crowded 2026 governor's primary, with the official guide listing dozens of candidates. For Weber's office, the immediate question is whether California's review process failed or whether the state's rules give election officials too little room to reject candidate statements that contain conspiracy theories, bigotry, or demonstrably false claims.

The Secretary of State's office did not respond to The Times of Israel's request for comment. The Jewish groups are asking Weber's office to explain how Grundmann's statement was reviewed, what standards were applied and whether the same material could appear again in the November voter guide.