Conservative Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco considering run for Governor in 2026: report

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.

The Press Enterprise reported on Friday 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 newspaper 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 Co...