A Republican Trump-supporting sheriff in Riverside County has officially put his name in the California gubernatorial race, becoming the first GOP candidate to enter the Golden State’s 2026 gubernatorial race.
On Monday, Sheriff Chad Bianco announced the launch of his campaign, hoping to replace Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom — who is term-limited.
James Meyers, OANN
BREAKING : Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco officially announces he is running for California Governor for 2026.
He was joined today by state legislators like Leticia Castillo and Bill Essayli, and many grass root organizers, law enforcement, tribal leaders, and more.
In 2024, Riverside, an inland city in the blue state south of Los Angeles, was won by President Donald Trump by just over one point.
Bianco, 58, declared to hundreds of his supporters in Riverside that the California dream has “turned into a nightmare” for Golden State residents — being hindered by Democrat policies that put more emphasis on criminal reform and climate change than fixing the roads, highways, and growing homelessness problem, as well as putting illegals and drug addicts above hard-working Californians.
“What is it that they have given us?” Bianco said regarding the state’s Democrat leaders. “Rampant crime, higher taxes, the highest cost of living in our nation, tent encampments in every major city, more fentanyl deaths, catastrophic fires, a broken homeowners’ insurance market. … Californians deserve better.”
During his rally, Bianco also noted that he would work to get rid of one state law that protects illegal immigrants from being deported.
“The best thing would be to completely abolish SB 54 and repeal it because it does absolutely nothing for public safety,” Bianco told Politico. “It does absolutely nothing for immigrant communities. The only thing SB 54 was designed for was to keep criminals from being deported.”
SB-54, which is referred to as the “California Values Act,” prohibits local law enforcement from using its resources for illegal immigration enforcement, with some exceptions. The law has been in effect since January 2018.
“[I’m] tired of my friends leaving the state. I’m tired of watching my friends’ kids leave this state,” Bianco said, the Times reported.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bianco explained that he purposely did not enforce vaccine mandates for sheriff’s department employees, as he understood that it was an experimental vaccine that was developed in a short time. Bianco also added that he supported Prop 36, which created harsher criminal penalties for theft and fentanyl dealing in the state.
“We won that fight, and we won it big,” Bianco said, adding that California voters rejected Democrat leaders who “tried their best to keep it off our ballot, to prevent all of you from forcing them to do what was right.”
Previously, the last Republican to become the governor of California was Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who served from 2003- 2011.
