On Monday, a tough-on-crime Republican sheriff who supported President Donald Trump in last year’s election announced his campaign for California governor.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco announced his candidacy for the 2026 race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom at an event held Monday in Riverside, California, about 50 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Bianco stated, “As Californians, we want leadership that actually cares about the cost of living …and leaders who will do something about it,” according to prepared excerpts.
He emphasized, “We want homes that are affordable. We want air conditioning when it’s hot, not rolling blackouts. We require water for the crops and animals that sustain us. We want to be able to pursue the California Dream without being hampered by government red tape and regulations.
We expect honesty and transparency from our elected officials. We prefer lower taxes and less government waste. “We want sanity restored and common sense to prevail.”
Bianco, a vocal critic of Newsom and other state Democratic leaders on crime and punishment issues, was a key figure in last November’s landslide victory for California’s Proposition 36 ballot measure.
The measure, which went into effect in December, requires California to impose harsher penalties and longer prison sentences for certain drug and theft crimes.
“I am running for governor because our beautiful state, which I adore, is on the wrong track and has been for years. Everyone knows it, except for those in the Sacramento echo chamber.
“For decades, the party in complete control of our state government has tried the same failed ideas and implemented the same failed policies,” Bianco said, criticizing Newsom and the Democratic majorities in the state legislature.
Bianco, who has worked in law enforcement for over 30 years, was first elected sheriff in 2018. He’s been openly considering a 2026 gubernatorial run since at least last spring.
It’s been nearly two decades since a Republican has won statewide office in heavily blue California. You have to go all the way back to former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2006 re-election win.
Since former Vice President Kamala Harris’ election defeat to Trump last November, there has been much speculation about her next political move, with the two most likely options being a 2026 gubernatorial run in her home state of California or another presidential bid in 2028.
Harris served as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and U.S. senator before becoming vice president.
Sources in the former vice president’s political orbit say no decisions have been made about any next steps.
The Democratic race for governor in the heavily blue-leaning state is already crowded.
Among the more than half-dozen candidates running for governor are Harris ally Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Former Representative Katie Porter, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Senate nomination last year, has expressed an interest in running again.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who previously served in Congress and as California attorney general before joining the Biden administration, is also considered a potential candidate.
Steve Hilton, a former Fox News Channel host and conservative commentator, is considering a Republican run for California governor.
In addition, if Harris runs, one of Trump’s top advisers is considering a run for governor of California.
Richard Grenell, a longtime Trump supporter who is serving as U.S. envoy for special missions in the president’s second administration, told reporters late last week, “If Kamala Harris runs for governor, I believe she has such baggage and hundreds of millions of dollars in educating voters of how terrible she is, that it’s a new day in California, and that the Republican actually has a shot.”
Grenell, who served as ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, considered running for California governor in the 2021 recall election, which Newsom easily won, but decided against it.
In California, unlike most other states, the top two candidates in a primary, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election.
