Riverside County sheriff becomes the first major Republican to say he'll run for California governor

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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said Monday he is running for governor of California in 2026, becoming the first major Republican to announce a bid for an election nearly two years away.

Bianco, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump and his policies, was first elected sheriff in 2018 and has been in law enforcement for more than 30 years. He is joining a growing number of candidates looking to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom as the GOP struggles to field a serious statewide candidate.

During his campaign announcement in downtown Riverside, Bianco criticized Democratic policies that he says have led to the homeless crisis on city streets and the state's housing affordability problems.

“It is only our Democrat elected officials who are responsible for the decline of California,” he said. “What is it they have given us? 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 home insurance market and people across our state are struggling to afford groceries and gas. Californians deserve better.”

Bianco, a law-and-order conservative, said his campaign won't focus on the divide between Republicans and Democrats but on a common goal of having "a better California.”

“We will take our message of restoring sanity to every corner of our beautiful state,” he said.

The Democratic candidates include former Los Angeles Mayor and Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, former state Controller Betty Yee and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. Polling from the Public Policy Institute of California shows former Vice President Kamala Harris would be in a strong position if she runs, but she hasn’t said what she’ll do.

The race to replace Newsom, whose term limit runs out in 2027, will be a Democratic free-for-all sure to attract the party’s top talent for the chance to lead the nation’s most populous state and the world’s fifth largest economy.