Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco announces run for governor; "Californians deserve better"

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. - Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco formally announced his candidacy for governor of California.

Bianco scheduled a campaign opener at 11:30 a.m. Monday at Avila's Historic 1929 Event Center, 3252 Mission Inn Ave. The announcement was livestreamed at Facebook.com/SheriffChadBianco.

"This is not going to be about party politics, this is going to be about fixing a broken state to make this the state that everyone in the country wants to come to. I’m tired of my friends leaving the state. I’m tired of watching my friend's kids leave the state. We need to bring them all back with sanity and the promise that California is and once again will be the best state in this country," Bianco said during his announcement. 

He said he promises to bring change and common sense back to government and fix the ‘broken state’. During the announcement, Bianco said democratic elected officials are responsible for the decline of California and blamed them for the rise in crime, homelessness, high taxes, and high cost of living. He said Californians deserve better.

"Today we fire up the machine that will restore the promise to all Californians that the dream is still alive. As I watched over the past year or so as career politicians, millionaires and billionaires have positioned themselves as the governor-elect position of 2026, I realized that we are blindly continuing down this path of destruction. The same people responsible for the past 20 years of failed government all want the top position," he stated. 

The backstory:

Bianco, who moved to California in 1989, was first elected sheriff in 2018 amid backing from the deputies' union, the Riverside Sheriffs' Association. He had previously run unsuccessfully against then-Sheriff Stan Sniff in 2014.

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Bianco, who has been in law enforcement over three decades, has managed the sheriff's department budget without deficits, generally returning some funds to the county treasury each fiscal year. However, the agency's spending thresholds have grown every year he has been at the helm. In spite of that, the county's correctional capacity has remained constrained due to two-thirds of the Benoit Detention Center in Indio remaining inoperable for lack of staffing.

He is the highest-paid elected official in county government, netting composite income in 2023 of $593,518, according to payroll figures released by the California State Controller's Office.

What we know:

While his tough-on-crime stance has resonated with many residents, other aspects of his personality haven't always endeared him to observers. His affiliation with the "Oath Keepers,"  a strong right-leaning organization known for seeming blind loyalty to President Donald Trump, has elicited criticism in some quarters.

Bianco has made his preference for Trump crystal clear, proudly endorsing him and appearing with him at campaign events, most recently one in October at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, where an invited Nevada Republican activist, Vem Miller, drove into a VIP parking lot with two guns in the back of his pickup, sparking alarm about a possible assault on the then-presidential candidate.

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Bianco almost immediately averred that I "probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt. I truly do believe that we prevented another assassination attempt."

After federal investigators found no evidence to support the sheriff's claims, Bianco walked them back, later acknowledging that Miller likely wasn't at the event to perpetrate any type of violence. Miller, who was charged in December with misdemeanor illegal possession of a loaded firearm, has federally sued the sheriff for civil rights violations.

During the COVID lockdowns, Bianco joined multiple sheriffs statewide in vociferously opposing the use of law enforcement resources to enforce mask mandates and curfews, earning him national plaudits among civil libertarians and others negatively impacted by the restrictions. However, some lawmakers viewed Bianco's and the other sheriffs' positions as insubordinate and detrimental to public health policies.

The sheriff has made his distaste for Gov. Gavin Newsom unequivocal, saying in an interview last April that "we don't agree on much of anything."

"He's supposed to be the leader of this state," Bianco said. "The reality of Californians is, we all know this (increasing drug addiction, homelessness and property crime) is a mess. Everyone knows it's a mess, including Sacramento."

Two months later, he told one news outlet, "California is starving for something different. Our options so far -- we don't have new options."

Who is running for governor?

What's next:

Newsom will not be on the ballot for the November 2026 general election. The field of prospective candidates has been growing. Last year, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis declared her candidacy, along with former Los Angeles Mayor and Assembly Speaker Antonio Villarigosa and former State Controller Betty Yee, all Democrats.

The GOP slate is less certain, leaving open the possibility that Bianco may be the chief competitor on the Republican side.

The state's primary election is June 2, 2026.