Republican Candidate Sharifah Hardie Calls for Economic Action, Not More Incarceration, in California Governor’s Race

Sharifah Hardie rejects GOP status quo, calls for jobs over jails and a bold economic plan to rebuild California from the ground up.

COLTON, CA, UNITED STATES, May 30, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Sharifah Hardie, a Republican candidate for California Governor in 2026, is calling for real economic leadership and challenging the Republican establishment’s status quo. While her GOP opponents raise millions from wealthy donors and back a sheriff with a legacy of mass incarceration, Hardie is on the ground, supporting real economic solutions that lift Californians up instead of locking them away.

“They’ve already picked their guy — the Sheriff,” Hardie said. “But Californians need to ask themselves: What happens when you put someone in charge who’s spent decades locking people up? Everyone’s going to jail. We need jobs, not jails. We need opportunity, not oppression.”

Manufacturing Over Incarceration: A New Path for California
Hardie’s economic vision was on full display during her recent visit to SWorx Bottling Company, a high-efficiency manufacturing facility in Colton, CA. The 161,000-square-foot plant, owned by Urban Television Network Corp. (OTC: URBT), has launched a $75 million private offering to expand operations and put Californians back to work. For Hardie, SWorx is more than a plant, it's proof that the private sector, not prison expansion, is the path forward.

The High Cost of Incarceration in California
California’s incarceration rate is one of the highest in the nation, with 494 people locked up per 100,000 residents. Each year, more than 368,000 individuals are booked into local jails, and the state spends over $18 billion annually on the criminal legal system, not including city and county costs.

In 2023, the state prison population was over 94,000, with counties like Kings (666 per 100,000) and Shasta far exceeding the state average. The system disproportionately impacts people of color, particularly Black and Latino men, and continues to cycle thousands of individuals through local jails under outdated policies like Realignment.

“California does not need more of the same — more arrests, more incarceration, more spending on systems that break families and communities,” said Hardie. “I have a different vision. It’s time for another California Gold Rush. Not in minerals, but in jobs, small business growth, and manufacturing. Let’s put California back to work and stop building more prisons.”

A Republican Platform Rooted in Economic Revival
Hardie’s California Forward Plan offers a conservative, results-based alternative to mass incarceration:

Cut taxes and regulations to grow businesses

Support Made-in-California manufacturing

Expand job training, apprenticeships, and skilled trades

Reduce government waste and criminal system bloat

Focus on local opportunity, not mass detention

While others run on name recognition and donor dollars, Hardie says she is running on action, accountability, and outcomes. Learn more about Sharifah Hardie’s California Forward Plan at www.SharifahHardieForGovernor.com or call 562-822-0965 to donate or get involved.

Sharifah Hardie
+1 562-822-0965
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Sharifah Hardie for Governor
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