Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is a passionate supporter of President Trump and a fierce critic of government Gavin Newsom, and will run for governor in 2026.
A conservative of law and order, Bianco will become the most famous Republican to join the already crowded Democrat race. He hopes to replace Newsom, who serves his second term and is forbidden to run again.
The race remains widespread and continues to speculate whether former Vice President Kamala Harris will jump into the contest. Harris, who lost to Trump in the November presidential election, lives in Brentwood, has been successful in California politics, serving as the San Francisco district attorney general for California, and represents the states of the U.S. Senate.
Bianco is scheduled to announce his official candidacy on President’s Day Monday at Riverside. His decision to jump into the race was first reported by Politico and confirmed by The Times.
Bianco was elected sheriff in 2018 and re-elected in 2022 after a long career with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. He has been considering the governor’s run since June.
As sheriff, Bianco was a harsh critic of public safety policies throughout the state. During the 2024 election, Bianco supported Prop. 36. This supported voter measures approved by voters to reverse courses of progressive criminal justice reform on theft crimes and the use of the deadly drug fentanyl.
In 2021, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Bianco created political upset when he vowed not to enforce potential vaccine mandates to employees in the sheriff’s office.
Bianco also scrutinized after revealing in 2014 that he was a member of the Soldier Administrator, a far-right rebel group that took part in the Pro-Trump rebellion at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. I was faced with. .
Sean Bowler, a political scientist at UC Riverside, is hoping Republicans will set the governor of California on a difficult path. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the last Republican elected governor, and it was in 2006. However, he believes that it may still be possible for moderate Republicans to do well if the candidate can overcome opposition from the party’s right wing.
“Even Republican candidates have struggled in recent years,” Bowler said. “…I think it’s going to be difficult for him.”
Riverside County has also not proven to be California’s major political springboard compared to at least Los Angeles, Orange County, or the Bay Area, so Bianco must overcome its disadvantages, Bauer said. I said that.
Since taking office, Trump’s controversial actions on border security and his push to deport illegal immigrants to the country will almost certainly be the best issue in California’s 2026 governor’s race. . And Riverside Sheriff was not embarrassed to express his opinion.
Last year, Bianco joined a coalition of sheriffs across the country who supported the harsh border security stance taken by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, including transporting immigrants to “sanctuary” cities around the country.
But earlier this month, Bianco announced that Riverside County representatives would not “have any type of immigration enforcement,” and fears among local immigrant communities increased due to attacks ordered by the Trump administration. He said he did.
“There has been a surprising rise in concerns about law enforcement and immigration,” he said. “Most of this is caused by misinformation and fear from dishonest politicians, social media, immigration activists, and even dishonest headlines from the media.”
In January, the Trump administration vowed to investigate and prosecute government officials who did not comply with restrictive immigration orders. This move is outlined in an internal note from playing our surrogate Atty. General Emil Bove directed state and local officials to comply with the federal immigration orders.
An executive order signed in January would ensure that federal officials “have not received access to federal funds by jurisdictions of so-called “sanctuaries” that seek to prevent legal exercise of federal law enforcement businesses.” “We have called for measures to be taken to ensure the so-called ‘sanctuary’ jurisdiction.
Although Riverside County is not a “sanctuary” jurisdiction, the Board of Supervisors recently approved a measure to designate Riverside County as “a safe place for all residents, regardless of immigration circumstances.”
A UC Berkeley Government Institute poll released in November found that if Harris joins the governor’s race, nearly half of voters are likely to support her.
Her entry could be bad news for the current Democrat field during the race. These include Lieutenant Colonel Eleni Kunarakis, Chief Tony Thurmond of the State Schools, former Senate Speaker Pro Tem Toni Atkins, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigoza, and former state states. Controller Betty Yi.
Other well-known Democrats who appear to be considering running the governor include former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter from Irvine and former Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Bekera.
Times staff writers Hannafly and Laura Nelson contributed to this report.
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