Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is considering running as a Republican for governor in 2026, potentially bringing an outspoken conservative voice to what’s already a crowded field hoping to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Bianco did not immediately respond Friday morning, April 12, to a request for comment.
But Nick Mirman, a Sacramento-based political and public affairs consultant working with Bianco, said the sheriff has been asked to run “by several folks across the state (of) all different kinds of political persuasions.”
“I think people are looking for someone with his leadership qualities and someone who is outside of the Sacramento political elite bubble,” Mirman said.
“The same people who put the state in the mess that it’s in now can’t be trusted to fix it. And folks like the sheriff for his leadership qualities and a lot of people think that he could be the man to bring the state back.”
There’s no timetable for Bianco to make a decision on running, Mirman said.
“I think any formal announcement, if there is one, is far off.”
First elected in 2018, Bianco, who won reelection in 2022 with 61% of the vote, could run for governor without having to leave the sheriff’s office. Thanks to a state law that realigned sheriffs’ elections to coincide with presidential elections, Bianco’s term doesn’t expire until the end of 2028.
Since becoming sheriff, Bianco has established a reputation for blunt talk, tough-on-crime messaging and a willingness to take on what he believes are radical left activists who want to defund the police and endanger the public.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he made headlines for calling Newsom a bully and refusing to enforce state-mandated business restrictions intended to stop the spread of the virus. Saying he’s “anti-vax for Chad,” he did not require jail staff to be vaccinated against COVID — unvaccinated staff still had to be routinely tested — while doubting the virus’s severity.
At his 2023 swearing-in, Bianco called California “once the greatest state in this country.” He also said the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests “always turned to riots” — though a study found 93% were peaceful — and criminal justice reforms from Sacramento “allowed for the murder” of a deputy gunned down during a traffic stop.
More recently, the sheriff, a frequent guest on conservative podcasts and other right-of-center media, appeared on Fox News Digital to attack Prop. 47, a 2014 voter-approved ballot measure that reduced penalties for some drug and property crimes. He chairs a committee spearheading a proposed 2024 ballot initiative to amend Prop. 47.
Bianco faces considerable headwinds if he moves forward with a gubernatorial bid.
California hasn’t elected a GOP governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, and 47% of the state’s voters are registered Democrats, compared to 24% for Republicans.
A run for governor likely would bring increased scrutiny to Bianco’s past, including his past membership in the far-right Oath Keepers militia. Bianco has said he was a dues-paying member for a year in 2014 — “I don’t even remember it,” he said in 2021.
Bianco has said he learned of the Oath Keepers from the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, with which he was affiliated at the time. Extremist watchdogs say the association is an anti-government extremist group that believes sheriffs’ powers supersede the federal government’s authority.
While the gubernatorial election is 2 1/2 years away, it’s already attracted several candidates with access to deep pockets of political cash.
Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond are among the Democrats who have announced they’ll run. Another, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, could enter the race at some point.
Related links
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s award seen by critics as proof of his far-right ties
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco isn’t backing down in second term
Riverside County sheriff acknowledges he was dues-paying member of Oath Keepers
Sheriff Chad Bianco accused of libel in lawsuit by Riverside council member
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s refusal to enforce coronavirus orders gets national attention
California gubernatorial elections advance the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, out of the primary. Someone more moderate than Bianco “might fare better in a general election,” Marcia Godwin, professor of public administration at the University of La Verne, said via email.
“A Bianco candidacy could play out in the same way as the (2024) Steve Garvey campaign for U.S. Senate,” Godwin said. “If he truly did gain party backing, he could advance within a crowded Democratic field.”
“However, Bianco could act more as a foil for whoever is the (Democratic) frontrunner to run compare-and-contrast ads to set up a presumably easier general election race than a gubernatorial one that theoretically could be Democrat vs. Democrat.”
