Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, one of California’s most vocal critics of Governor Gavin Newsom and who publicly vowed not to enforce safety mandates during the COVID-19 Pandemic, may reportedly be running for the state’s top office himself in two years.
Politico reported on Thursday that Bianco is entertaining a run for Governor in 2026. Nick Mirman, a political consultant who has worked for the Sheriff, told the newspaper that Bianco has been approached “by several folks across the state (of) all different kinds of political persuasions.”
Bianco would run as a Republican, the outlet reports. He’s dipped his toes into the political waters in recent months, campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey.
Bianco’s public spars with Newsom gained attention during the pandemic in 2020, when he refused to enforce lockdowns. The next year, he announced that he wouldn’t impose vaccine mandates for Sheriff’s Department employees in Riverside County, a policy he credited for a boost in job applications.
More recently he’s criticized the Democrat’s stance on crime. He’s joined Republican efforts to roll back policies instated by Proposition 47, which was voted to law by Californians in 2014 and modified punishments for drug and nonviolent property crimes like theft.
A 2021 data leak revealed that Bianco was once a due-paying member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right group that participated in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection on the Capitol. Bianco admitted that he was a member for one year, in 2014.
He said the group “didn’t offer” him anything, leading to his departure, but he didn’t criticize their actions or ideologies.
Bianco was first elected in 2018 and won re-election in 2022 with 61% of the vote. The Press Enterprise reports that he wouldn’t have to leave office in 2026 for a potential gubernatorial run.
His term as sheriff expires at the end of 2028. He has not commented on the speculation.