Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to run for California governor, source says
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is planning to run for governor of the state of California in 2026, a source with the campaign confirmed to CBS News Los Angeles Wednesday.
Bianco is expected to make an official announcement on his coming run Monday, according to the source. Last week, Attorney General Rob Bonta told Politico he won't be running for governor in 2026 while Kamala Harris brushed off speculation during a visit surveying the Palisades Fire site earlier this month, neither confirming nor refuting reports that she will run.
A proud supporter of President Trump, Bianco most recently spoke out against alleged rumors of ICE raids being carried out by deputies within the Riverside County Sheriff's Department — releasing a video in which he also criticized the California's sanctuary state law. While confirming deputies were not making immigration-related arrests, he slammed the legislation, SB 54, calling it "dangerous" and vowing to "fight to reform" it.
The law, also known as the California Values Act, prohibits most cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, barring local police agencies from sharing information about the immigration status of detainees or arresting individuals solely on the basis of their status. Bianco said he would still try to cooperate with ICE in making removals from jails.
"Stories of deputies conducting raids at schools, businesses and churches are simply not true," Bianco said. "I will do everything I can — within the confines of the sanctuary state laws of California — to cooperate with ICE to remove criminals from our jails."
Last year, he rallied support for Proposition 36, the ballot measure cracking down on theft and drug-related crimes by increasing penalties and allowing felony charges be filed while also mandating treatment for certain drug offenses. It drew criticism from opponents who compared it to the hardline policies of the War on Drugs, such as Gov. Gavin Newsom, who argued it would fill up jails and wouldn't receive sufficient funding for the required-treatment component of the law.
As a longtime critic of Newsom, Bianco has blasted the governor's leadership, saying that he's slashed budgets for corrections and let out prisoners early. During the COVID pandemic, he challenged the state's stay-at-home orders, saying in part, that the sheriff's department would "not be blackmailed, bullied or used as muscle" against county residents in enforcing those orders.
Bianco made national headlines last year when deputies with his department arrested a man outside President Trump's rally in Coachella Valley on suspicion of gun charges. Upon announcing the arrest, Bianco said he believed deputies had thwarted an assassination attempt. However, the U.S. Attorney's Office later said that former President Trump was not in any danger while a federal official told CBS News there was no indication of an assassination attempt in connection with the man's arrest.
