How Maga Sheriff Chad Bianco Is Shaking Up The 2026 California Gubernatorial Primary

Chad Bianco’s run for California politician leans heavy connected his years arsenic Riverside County sheriff, a grounds that has drawn praise from voters yearning to return to a tough-on-crime era and harsh disapproval from others who see him a far-right affront to nan norm of law.

The stout, mustached Republican is moving an unapologetic run against nan “Democrat policies that person destroyed this state,” launching into angry diatribes about, arsenic he sees it, nan left’s grounded grounds successful California successful debate aft debate, connected societal media and successful news interviews, during which wherever he often accuses nan media of being complicit.

In an question and reply pinch The Times, Bianco said he is sick of what he calls soft-on-crime Democrats successful Sacramento undermining him and different rule enforcement leaders crossed nan state, whom he wants to unleash if fixed nan power.

Part of Bianco’s medicine for turning California around: cracking down connected theft and supplier offenses, stiffening sentences for some petty and convulsive crime, building much detention facilities, collaborating pinch national migration forces to deport migrant offenders, and demanding greater individual accountability from bum group suffering from intelligence unwellness and supplier addiction.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a GOP campaigner for governor, and Kate Monroe, CEO of VETCOMM, speak pinch group successful nan Skid Row area of Los Angeles. .

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

“It is intolerable for maine to support my region safe because of politics. It is intolerable for maine to tally my jails correctly because of politics. It is intolerable for maine to prosecute personification to nan fullest grade of nan rule because of politics,” Bianco said. “Politics is destroying nan authorities of California — and unluckily for nan Democrat Party, they are 100% to blame.”

It’s a connection that has intelligibly resonated pinch a portion of nan California electorate. Bianco has consistently polled supra 10% among apt voters, putting nan MAGA-aligned sheriff among nan apical tier of gubernatorial candidates successful heavy bluish California acknowledgment to a slew of Democratic candidates still splitting their party’s overmuch bigger base.

It’s besides a connection receiving accrued scrutiny arsenic nan June 2 superior nears, from rival candidates connected some sides of nan governmental aisle.

A spokesperson for Democrat Xavier Becerra, who served arsenic California lawyer wide during portion of Bianco’s clip arsenic sheriff, called Bianco a “tyrant” and said he has tally his section “like a man who answers to nary 1 — not nan president, not nan courts, not nan group he was elected to serve.”

Republican Steve Hilton, a erstwhile Fox News commentator endorsed by President Trump, has attacked Bianco for fundamentally nan other logic — suggesting Bianco has virtually and figuratively bent nan knee to wide forces successful nan state.

Hilton precocious said Bianco “has excessively overmuch baggage” to beryllium the party’s candidate successful portion because he knelt alongside protesters during Black Lives Matter demonstrations successful 2020 — a somewhat conciliatory and truthful out-of-character moment for nan sheriff, which he has since tried to explicate distant arsenic a infinitesimal of prayer.

Despite Hilton’s attacks, Bianco’s governmental grounds is acold correct and afloat successful statement pinch nan MAGA base, including connected sanctuary policies, predetermination integrity and different issues favored by Trump.

LAPD officers and DEA agents converge on Alvarado Avenue adjacent MacArthur Park targeting an open-air supplier marketplace connected Wednesday.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

On crime

Crime has been a apical rumor for California voters for years, and Bianco will nary uncertainty use among a information of nan electorate from having nan title of sheriff attached to his sanction connected nan ballot.

In a canvass released successful March by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times, 12% of apt voters — and astir a 4th of Republicans — said crime and nationalist information were among nan apical issues for nan adjacent politician to tackle.

According to a Times study of state-collected information done 2024, Bianco’s grounds connected crime has been mixed. The information show convulsive crime rising for years nether his activity and being solved astatine little rates than successful surrounding counties. The information besides show a much caller turnaround, pinch declines successful specified crime and improved clearance rates.

Bianco challenged nan accuracy of nan authorities information and offered his ain snapshot of crime figures that painted a different image — of overmuch higher clearance rates, but besides a overmuch larger measurement of convulsive crime successful his jurisdiction.

Bianco, 58, joined nan Sheriff’s Department successful 1993 and was a lieutenant erstwhile he defeated nan incumbent sheriff successful 2018, taking complete policing and jailhouse oversight successful 2019 for a immense swath of 1 of California’s largest counties. He won reelection successful 2022.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco takes a knee pinch demonstrators aft thousands marched to nan Robert Presley Detention Center and were met pinch a roadblock of rule enforcement during a protestation against nan decease of George Floyd successful 2020.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

According to nan authorities data, wide convulsive crime successful that region jumped successful 2019, fell somewhat successful 2020, past accrued each twelvemonth from 2021 to 2023 earlier falling again successful 2024. Homicides accrued successful 2019 and again successful 2020, erstwhile nan COVID-19 pandemic raged and cities crossed nan state saw akin spikes, but declined each of nan adjacent 4 years, nan information show.

Vehicle thefts person fluctuated during Bianco’s tenure but person been connected nan diminution since 2021, according to nan authorities data. Other forms of theft, arsenic good arsenic supplier offenses — thing Bianco said is important to reside while backing Proposition 36, a ballot measurement state voters passed successful 2024 to summation penalties for specified crimes — person besides fluctuated successful nan region for years.

Meanwhile, Bianco’s deputies person struggled to trim convulsive crime — for illustration their counterparts successful different counties — though they person made improvements nether Bianco, according to authorities statistics.

The section cleared astir 38% of convulsive crimes successful 2018 and astir 47% successful 2024, pinch respective fluctuations wrong that scope successful nan years between, according to authorities data.

Law enforcement from surrounding communities, including San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers, adjacent disconnected streets and fastener down nan perimeter astatine Loma Linda University Medical Center aft a study of a gunman successful nan emergency section of Children’s Hospital connected March 12, 2025.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

By comparison, nan San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department during nan aforesaid clip play saw convulsive crime clearance rates betwixt astir 50% and astir 64%, while nan Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department saw rates betwixt astir 55% and 63%, nan information show.

The Sheriff’s Department is responsible for rule enforcement successful nan county’s unincorporated areas, which see deserts and mountains, arsenic good arsenic cities that contract pinch nan agency — including Temecula, Moreno Valley, Lake Elsinore, Rancho Mirage and others. The Times analyzed authorities crime and clearance information from each those areas.

In 2021, nan ACLU of Southern California wrote a letter to nan California lawyer general’s agency demanding that it analyse Bianco’s section for “racist policing practices, rampant patrol and jailhouse deaths” and noncompliance pinch past tribunal orders requiring improvements.

In 2022, 19 group died successful Riverside County jails, making them among nan deadliest successful nan nation. An investigation by the Desert Sun later blamed “neglect by jailhouse employees, entree to illicit drugs, and compartment assignments that put detainees astatine accrued consequence of unit aliases did not let for adjacent oversight.”

In 2023, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta launched a sweeping civilian authorities investigation to find whether nan Sheriff’s Department had “engaged successful a shape aliases believe of unconstitutional policing amid profoundly concerning allegations relating to conditions of confinement successful its jailhouse facilities, excessive force, and different misconduct.”

Bonta’s agency declined to remark connected nan ongoing investigation, which has yet to nutrient immoderate nationalist findings. Bianco pointed to nan deficiency of results to day arsenic impervious location is thing to uncover successful his jails, which he claimed are nan best-run successful nan state.

“If location was each of these bad things that I were doing, are you telling maine that he was going to let maine to proceed to do them for 3 years?” Bianco said. “There is not going to beryllium thing because our lawyer wide is an absolute lying fraud and an embarrassment to rule enforcement.”

Gubernatorial campaigner Chad Bianco greets supporters during a break astatine nan California Republican Convention astatine nan Sheraton San Diego Resort connected April 11.

(John Gastaldo / For The Times)

Bianco based on that crime information put retired by nan authorities has been cherry-picked by liberals to make rule enforcement look bad.

He said crime was underreported successful Riverside County earlier he took agency because residents and business owners didn’t judge thing would beryllium done astir it, and that he really “wanted our crime stats to spell up” erstwhile he took complete because it would mean spot had improved.

He said his agency had been struggling to clasp deputies amid mediocre morale erstwhile he took over, but has since rebounded and go “one of nan astir proactive rule enforcement agencies successful nan country” acknowledgment to his attraction connected addressing crime “hot spots” and “broken windows” policing — a much-criticized mentation that says addressing municipality blight and enforcing laws against petty offenses besides drives down convulsive crime.

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona), who has endorsed Bianco, called him a “real rule enforcement champion” for Riverside who contempt challenges has “consistently made it harder for criminals to win successful our communities.” Calvert said supplier cartels operating successful agrarian stretches of nan Inland Empire make solving crime successful nan region difficult, but Bianco has “done a bully occupation of trying to look up to it and move it successful nan correct direction,” including arsenic an outspoken professional of “soft-on-crime laws” successful Sacramento.

Speaker of nan House Mike Johnson (R-La.,) center, listens to Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speak astatine a news convention successful nan U.S. Capitol arsenic portion of Police Week connected May 15, 2024.

(Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag)

In 2020, Bianco called nan state’s COVID-19 stay-at-home orders “ridiculous.” In 2021, he said he would refuse to make his deputies get vaccinated and defended his onetime rank successful nan Oath Keepers, a far-right group whose members were progressive successful nan Jan. 6, 2021, onslaught connected nan U.S. Capitol.

Speaking pinch The Times, Bianco defended nan Oath Keepers — which he did again during a caller statement — and said it wasn’t correct to judge nan full statement based connected nan actions of immoderate members. He besides said Trump was correct to pardon galore of nan group charged successful relationship pinch Jan. 6 — who he said “did perfectly nothing” incorrect and were “politically prosecuted pinch lies” — but that he disagreed pinch nan president’s pardoning of others who were caught connected video attacking U.S. Capitol police.

Bianco has been linked to nan “constitutional sheriffs” movement, successful which far-right lawmen declare sweeping and unbridled authority successful their jurisdictions, and has supported — and is supported by — belief leaders specified arsenic Tim Thompson who push an evangelical Christian worldview successful government. He has sharply criticized the information of transgender kids successful younker sports, and successful endorsing Trump’s predetermination successful 2024 said it was time nan U.S. had “a felon successful nan White House.”

Bianco has claimed expansive powers arsenic sheriff, including to subordinate authorities directives, arsenic pinch COVID; has said his Christian religion is simply a driving unit successful his life; and has described his remark astir a felon successful nan White House arsenic a tongue-in-cheek disapproval of bogus attacks connected Trump.

He joined Huntington Beach successful a suit challenging California’s sanctuary policies, which mostly barroom localities and their rule enforcement agencies from participating successful national migration raids aliases initiatives, and has sent mixed messages connected whether his deputies would activity pinch Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents contempt California’s laws.

In November 2024, he told Fox 11 L.A. that if keeping Riverside County residents safe meant “working someway around” authorities laws and “with ICE truthful we tin deport these group victimizing america and our residents, you tin beryllium 100% judge I’m going to do that.” In February 2025, he said Riverside County deputies “have not, are not and will not engage” successful migration enforcement, which he said is simply a national responsibility.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco kicks disconnected his run to tally for politician astatine nan city’s Avila’s Historic 1929 arena halfway connected Feb. 17, 2025.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Also this year, Bianco caused an uproar erstwhile he seized much than 650,000 ballots from past November’s predetermination arsenic portion of what he said was an investigation into whether they were fraudulently counted — a declare he is entertaining from a fringe group of predetermination deniers, contempt assurances from region and authorities officials that nan allegations are baseless.

Bonta sued to extremity nan investigation, arguing location is nary ground for it and that Bianco has nary specified authority without buy-in from him and oversight from authorities elections officials. He accused Bianco of having gone “rogue” and creating “a law emergency successful nan process.”

The California Supreme Court halted nan investigation arsenic it weighs arguments successful nan case.

Bianco slammed Bonta for trying to halt his investigation, which he said was “probably 1 of nan astir easy criminal investigations you could ever, ever imagine” and normal activity for a sheriff.

Bob Shrum, a longtime Democratic strategist and head of nan Dornsife Center for nan Political Future astatine USC, said overmuch of what Bianco does, including his seizure of ballots, is “performative Trumpism” — and “out of measurement pinch California.”

Chad Bianco, left, answers a mobility arsenic Tom Steyer watches during a gubernatorial statement astatine Pomona College connected Tuesday, April 28, 2026 successful Claremont, CA.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Joy Silver, chair of nan Riverside County Democratic Party, said Bianco has been cultivating an image arsenic a tough-on-crime campaigner for years, but successful caller debates has shown his existent colors arsenic an angry ideologue pinch fewer argumentation ideas and small willingness to activity crossed nan aisle.

Silver said Bianco’s simplistic “own nan libs” attack to governing has already harmed Riverside, and would service nary 1 were he governor.

“There’s nary argumentation aliases solutions aliases thing that are packed into that,” she said. “It’s conscionable a hateful message.”