Rene Campos, a registered sex offender who brought national attention to Fresno’s City Council race, will not appear on the June primary ballot.

Campos failed to obtain the 20 nomination signatures required from residents before the filing deadline, which was on Friday.

James Kus, Fresno County Clerk and Registrar of Voters, confirmed to The Bee that Campos will not be among the crowded list of candidates for the District 7 City Council seat on the June ballot.

Campos visited the elections office on the morning of the filing deadline, flanked by TV news cameras, and completed the base paperwork required to begin a candidacy, which included taking an oath, filing a declaration of candidacy, and paying a filing fee, Kus said.

Campos was then provided with nomination signature petition pages and directions when he needed to collect and return those signatures, Kus said. The window for candidates to do so opened in early February.

“The filing process and the information provided Mr. Campos is the same for all candidates — they all file the same paperwork prior to receiving their petitions and are all given the same directions for collection and return,” Kus said.

But Campos never returned to the elections office before the deadline on Friday with sufficient nomination signatures to qualify as a candidate on the ballot.

Campos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Campos’s bid to serve on the Fresno City Council drew backlash from local and state leaders. Five City Council members said they would support banning registered sex offenders from holding a seat on the council. Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, a former member of the City Council, introduced legislation aimed at preventing registered sex offenders from holding elected office statewide.

Campos had intended to join the competitive District 7 race, which includes Ariana Martinez Lott, AJ Rassamni, and Nav Gurm.

The primary election will take place on June 2. Fresno City Council District 1, District 3 and District 5 seats will also be on the ballot, as well as two Fresno County Supervisor seats.

To secure a seat, a candidate must receive over 50% of the vote in the primary election. If no one gets a majority of the vote, the top two candidates will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

The County Clerk’s office is still actively reviewing all paperwork from each candidate to officially finalize the names on the ballot.

This story was originally published March 9, 2026 at 10:49 AM.

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