Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco on Monday formally announced his candidacy for governor of California.
Bianco scheduled a campaign opener at 11:30 a.m. in Avila’s Historic 1929 Event Center, 3252 Mission Inn Ave. The announcement will additionally be livestreamed.
The event will put to rest months of speculative chatter regarding the sheriff’s future plans. He’s expected to be joined by his family and several area elected officials.
“Sheriff Bianco faces the reality of California’s failed public policies on a daily basis,” according to a campaign statement. “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 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.
Bianco has been in law enforcement for more than three decades. 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.
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.” Newsom won’t be on the ballot this time around.
The field of prospective candidates November 2026 has been growing. Last year, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis declared her candidacy, along with former Los Angeles Mayor and Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa 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.
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