Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, an outspoken supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, announced his candidacy for governor of California on Monday, emphasizing a “tough-on-crime” approach.
Bianco’s announcement comes with controversy. His affiliation with the “Oath Keepers,” a far-right extremist organization strongly linked to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, has sparked scrutiny and criticism about his past, as well as his stance against vaccines and the rate of in-custody deaths under his tenure.
Bianco is also 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.
He was first elected sheriff in 2018 with backing from the Riverside Sheriffs’ Association deputies’ union. He had previously run unsuccessfully against then-Sheriff Stan Sniff in 2014.
“Sheriff Bianco faces the reality of California’s failed public policies on a daily basis,” a campaign statement said.
“He has been a strong voice for reforming state law to once again ensure public safety across California. Most recently, he was a leader and vocal advocate for Proposition 36, which overwhelmingly passed in November and has started to return common sense to criminal sentencing laws.”
Bianco, who has been in law enforcement for more than 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.
While his right-wing stance has resonated with many residents, other aspects of his personality haven’t always endeared him to observers.
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.
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, acknowledging 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 detrimental to public health policies.
The sheriff has manifested regular distaste for Gov. Gavin Newsom, 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.”
Bianco is a critic of California’s sanctuary state law and has called SB 54 “dangerous” and has vowed to “fight to reform” it.
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 main attraction on the Republican side.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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