The Unity Party of America announced this week that it will have two candidates in California for the 2026 election cycle, which the party says are its first in the state. At least one of the candidates is running under another party’s ballot line.
In a press release shared with Independent Political Report Friday, August 22, Unity Party of California Chair Andrew Giusto said Jingchao Xiong will challenge U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi in the 11th Congressional District and that Savion Hays will be the party’s nominee for governor unless another candidate emerges.
Giusto described Xiong as “a recent Cantonese immigrant” with “a very detailed plan for San Francisco and America” outlined in a book he is distributing. He added that the state party has taken a “very active role” in his campaign. Regarding Hays, Giusto called him as “a well-known innovator in multiple industries” whose platform includes expanding access to preventive healthcare and “supercharging trade between U.S. states, starting with California and Nevada.”
According to Federal Election Commission filings, Xiong is running in the Democratic primary. IPR was not able to locate a filing for Hays; however, Politics1 reports that he is running as No Party Preference. Meanwhile, according to Hays’ campaign website, he is also running as a gubernatorial candidate in Nevada, citing historic examples of shared leadership and proposing cross-border collaboration on water resources, housing, energy, and economic development.
“I can’t thank Andrew enough for taking the bull by the horns out there in the Golden State, it’s gratifying to see the Unity Party field its first two California candidates in history, and I can’t wait to see what our West Coast Wizard comes up with next,” Unity Party of America Chair Bill Hammons said in the release.
While the national party acknowledges both candidates on its website, it still notes these are not yet official nominations, which will be decided at conventions “as appropriate,” and invites other members to announce their intentions to seek Unity nominations in 2026.
The California Secretary of State’s website does not list the Unity Party as a qualified political party or as a body attempting to qualify. While Xiong is running as a Democrat, the party’s announcement did not specify how Hays would attempt to appear on the ballot. It is not clear from the announcement how the Unity Party of America intends to pursue ballot access in the state.
California uses a “top-two” primary system for most state and federal voter‑nominated offices, in which all candidates, regardless of party preference, appear on the same primary ballot. Only the two highest vote-getters advance to the November general election, even if both have the same partisan affiliation.
Colorado is the only state in which a party with the name “Unity Party” is a legally recognized political party. The Unity Party of Colorado is not affiliated with the cyberspace entity that uses the name “Unity Party of America. “
Ballot access in California is very difficult. 7 parties have been trying for years none of them have succeeded. Even the very large Forward Party & the American Solidarity Party can’t do it. We realized we don’t need to be a ballot recognized party to put very good people on the ballot.
We have 2 candidates who we are working extremely close with (Hays & Xiong) & a few more candidates we will be supporting. (Those announcements will be coming in the next few weeks).
We will be having a convention in the Bay Area in Late January where we will ratify all these endorsements. .