Pro-Trump sheriff to run for governor in deep blue California

SACRAMENTO, California — Southern California Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican supporter of Donald Trump and fierce critic of Gavin Newsom, will run for California governor in 2026, two people familiar with his plans tell POLITICO.

Bianco, who has built a firebrand profile on issues of crime and punishment, faces strong headwinds in a blue state that hasn’t bucked the majority party in nearly two decades. But he’s looking to build off momentum from a fall statewide ballot measure he helped champion — Proposition 36 — that increased penalties for certain drug and theft crimes.

Bianco has been eyeing higher office since at least last spring. POLITICO reported in April that activists were talking him up as a future Sacramento aspirant when Newsom completes his final term. At the time, an adviser said California has a lot of problems, and its citizens are looking “outside the Sacramento political class to bring the state back.”

Speculation around Bianco has mounted in recent days after an online post teased a “major announcement” from next week. The elected sheriff, whose vast territory stretches from the Orange County line to the Colorado River and the Arizona border, is set to announce his run alongside scores of supporters at a Monday event in Riverside.

Bianco has accused Democratic leaders of coddling criminals and making it harder to arrest and imprison them. He did not comment, but one of the people familiar with his plans, granted anonymity to share them, said he would organize his campaign around one overarching theme: “Public safety. Public safety. Public safety,” the person said.

“Prop 36 put a hole in the Democratic coalition and we have every intention of driving a train through it,” they added.

Bianco, a fixture on Fox News, has touted improved morale in the sheriff’s department since he took office in 2019, which at more than 4,000 personnel is among the state’s largest. He will seek to capitalize on support from conservatives and law enforcement in what is shaping up to be a battle on the right. Another Republican, Steve Hilton, is considering a gubernatorial run in California, where the top-two primary candidates regardless of party advance to a head-to-head matchup in November 2026.

Hilton, the former Fox News host and policy adviser to ex-British Prime Minister David Cameron, has asked former state Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, a Democrat-turned-Republican, to run alongside him for lieutenant governor. The…