Last month, Ché Ahn, a far-right pastor in California, announced that he is running in the 2026 election to become governor of his home state.
Last week, Ahn officially launched his campaign with an event at which he explained how he has been called by God to run for the office.
"On April 28th, I had an encounter with the Holy Spirit at 2:30 in the morning," Ahn said. "The presence of God came upon me and this weighty presence—the kavod of God, the glory of God—came and I felt this incredible knowing. I didn't hear a voice, I didn't see a vision, I didn't have a dream, but I knew I was called to run for governor."
Ahn claimed that he initially resisted the calling and insisted upon receiving a confirmation from God that this is what he has been instructed to do.
"My first reaction, I said, 'Lord, please not this,'" Ahn claimed. "I'll do anything you ask me to do them not run for governor. And yet, I knew that I couldn't shake it. I was up for two hours, until like 4:30 in the morning just praying through this. Then I said, 'Lord, you know my weakness. I need a confirmation. I just can't go on this impression.' ... If I get an invitation from President Trump to come to the White House, then I know this is of you. Two hours later, I get a text saying that I'm going to get an e-mail invitation from President Trump to the White House for the National Day of Prayer at the Rose Garden."
"Now you can't make this up," Ahn declared. "And I said, 'OK, Lord, OK, that's a sign.'"
As Right Wing Watch reported when he first announced his campaign, Ahn is an ardently pro-Trump Christian nationalist activist and a leader in the New Apostolic Reformation:
The New Apostolic Reformation is a growing religious and political movement that emerged from the Pentecostal corner of American Christianity over the past few decades. President Donald Trump’s rise to power was assisted by NAR leaders who declared that Trump was anointed by God to lead America; in turn, Trump and his spiritual adviser Paula White have given dominionist leaders a level of access and influence they have never had before.
The movement’s leaders, like Ahn, believe that Christians who share their religious and political worldview are commanded to transform whole nations by taking “dominion” over every sphere of influence in society, including government, and "occupy" them until the return of Christ. Ahn’s campaign website says he is running “not out of ambition, but out of obedience.”
