Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco launched his campaign for California governor on Monday, and laws and orders that can decline and correct the nation after decades of mismanagement by Democratic leaders He portrayed himself as a conservative.
Before hundreds of supporters gathered in Riverside, Bianco, 58, said that California’s dream has been “turned into a nightmare” for those struggling to rise in prices for food, food, electricity and housing. I said that.
“What did they give us?” Bianco said of the Democrats. “Ramp-prolonged crime, higher taxes, the highest cost of living in our country, tent encampments in all major cities, fentanyl deaths, catastrophic fires, broken homeowners insurance market. .. Californians are more valuable.”
“California is home. You don’t have to move,” Bianco said, “I’m tired of my friend leaving the state. My friend’s children leaving this state. I’m tired of watching it.”
Bianco is the most well-known Republican to join the busy Democrat field and take part in the 2026 race on behalf of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom is serving his second term and cannot be executed again.
Bianco was elected Riverside County Sheriff in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. He built a statewide profile as a critic of the democratic supermajor voices of Newsom and the state legislature.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco will take a selfie with supporters after announcing his campaign to run for governor on Monday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
He attracted headlines for his refusal to enforce potential vaccine mandates for sheriff’s department employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. Civil rights investigation into his division by state prosecutors who Bianco said were politically motivated. And his support for Prop. 36 measured the vote, and voters were approved last fall to strengthen criminal penalties for theft and fentanyl dealings.
“We won that fight, and we won it a lot,” Bianco said of Proposal 36. He said the support of two-thirds of California electors was “a denial of the Democratic leaders who did their best to keep our votes up,” he said. , to prevent you from forcing them all to do the right thing. ”
The last Republican elected in California was Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. Approximately one in four California Republicans are registered.
Bianco told the crowd that his campaign was not about party politics, but rather “about the common goals we all have for better California.” He later told reporters: “I have to be a Republican.
Pam Nusser of Riverside said Bianco had won her support during the pandemic.
“I love him,” Nussar said. “He cannot be threatened, and he cannot be bought.”
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco will speak to the media after announcing his bid for the governor on Monday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Last year, Bianco joined a coalition of sheriffs across the United States who supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ strict immigration stance.
This month he sidelined rumors that Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies were helping with immigrant attacks at schools and churches, saying his deputies “will not support immigration enforcement of any kind.” .
He said he would “do everything he can within the sanctuary state law of California.”
Bianco also faced scrutiny after revealing in 2014 that he was a member of the Sold Keeper, a far-right group that took part in the Pro Trump rebellion at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. I did. He did not renew his membership because the organization “provided me nothing.”
Almost a year and a half before the June 2026 primary election, governor’s competition is still widespread.
The biggest question mark is whether former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lives in Los Angeles, from the Bay Area, will jump into the fight. Bianco said he hoped that.
“I welcome it to oppose her and her history in California,” Bianco said.
Harris’ entries include Lieutenant Colonel Eleni Kunarakis, Chief Tony Thurmond of the State Schools, former Senate Speaker Pro Tem Toni Atkins, former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Billigosa, and businessman and philanthropist Stephen Crewbook. You can write bad news for the current Democratic field.
Other well-known Democrats are said to be considering the governor’s run.
Other potential Republican candidates include conservative commentator Steve Hilton and former state senator Brian Dahl, who ran against Newsom in 2022.
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