{"id":14923,"date":"2026-06-14T13:01:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T13:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14923"},"modified":"2026-06-14T13:01:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T13:01:44","slug":"whats-next-for-chad-bianco-after-losing-california-governors-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14923","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s next for Chad Bianco after losing California governor\u2019s race?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

For more than a year, Chad Bianco crisscrossed California introducing himself as \u201cyour next governor.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Now, Bianco will fall back on a more familiar title: Riverside County sheriff.<\/p>\n

An outspoken style, a vow to shake up Sacramento and an \u201cOnly the sheriff can save us now\u201d campaign slogan weren\u2019t enough to push Bianco above a crowded gubernatorial primary field and into the general election to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n

As of Friday, Bianco, a Republican, was fourth with 10.2% of the statewide vote, well behind Democrat Xavier Becerra, Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Tom Steyer.<\/p>\n

Only the top two candidates \u2014 Becerra and Hilton \u2014 will move on to November\u2019s general election.<\/p>\n

The sheriff, 58, did not respond this week to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

As one chapter closes in Bianco\u2019s political career, the next is yet to be written. He\u2019s opened a campaign account to run for sheriff in 2028, but a local political observer offered other options.<\/p>\n

Bianco\u2019s run for governor \u201cdemonstrates political ambition, but the question remains on how it might be channeled,\u201d Marcia Godwin, a professor of public administration at the University of La Verne, said via email.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cDoes he hit the campaign trail with Hilton. \u2026 Does he wish to move to Washington. \u2026 and seek out an appointment from the Trump administration? Does he wish to promote ballot initiatives? Alternatively, he may simply wish to continue serving as Riverside County sheriff but with a more prominent profile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking to supporters on election night, June 2, the mustachioed sheriff, wearing his trademark cowboy hat, vowed to continue making sure \u201cSacramento hates me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, no matter what, if it\u2019s not in the cards for me to be your next governor, I\u2019m still going to be the sheriff of the fourth-largest county in the entire country,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m going to be fighting every single day to make sure Californians\u2019 lives are better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bianco\u2019s campaign \u201calready accomplished something important: it elevated issues that many Californians feel are being ignored \u2014 public safety, accountability in state leadership, and restoring trust in government institutions,\u201d Sonja Shaw, the conservative Chino Valley school board president, said via a text message.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cYou can either sit back and wait to be rescued or you can step up and provide an option for change,\u201d added Shaw, who is running in November for state superintendent of public instruction. \u201cHe chose to step in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bianco is \u201cwithout a doubt\u201d one of the leading figures among California conservatives, said 412 Church Temecula Valley Pastor Tim Thompson, a Bianco ally from southwest Riverside County.<\/p>\n

In Riverside County, \u201che\u2019s not the sheriff. He\u2019s known as the beloved sheriff\u201d and would easily win reelection, Thompson said, adding he hasn\u2019t spoken with Bianco about his future plans.<\/p>\n

First elected sheriff in 2018, Bianco launched his gubernatorial bid in February 2025 on a bedrock of local Republican support.<\/p>\n

In debates and campaign speeches, he promised to \u201cmake crime illegal again\u201d by cracking down on retail theft among other actions. He also pledged to eliminate California\u2019s income tax, suspend its gas tax and end vaccine mandates for schoolchildren.<\/p>\n

The sheriff endorsed Donald Trump in 2024, quipping \u201cIt\u2019s time we put a felon in the White House.\u201d Despite this, the president endorsed Hilton in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as Hilton joined the race, Bianco was an underdog to advance to the general election,\u201d Godwin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very competitive with Hilton at the (state GOP) convention, but President Trump\u2019s endorsement sealed it for Hilton. Hilton\u2019s comfort level with (the) media and on debate stages also came through.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The sheriff raised more than $6.3 million for his gubernatorial bid. He can transfer any leftover funds to his sheriff\u2019s campaign if he does so by the end of September, according to California\u2019s Fair Political Practices Commission, which enforces campaign finance rules.<\/p>\n

Assuming he doesn\u2019t step down or seek another office, Bianco will be up for reelection in 2028. California lawmakers moved sheriffs\u2019 races to presidential election years, giving Bianco an extra two years beyond his original four-year term.<\/p>\n

He may have finished fourth statewide, but Bianco enjoyed a strong Inland showing in the governor\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

He led his rivals in Riverside County until Wednesday, . Bianco trailed Becerra entering Friday.<\/p>\n

Bianco, who unseated Sheriff Stan Sniff in 2018, was reelected in 2022 with 61% of the vote. The deep-pocketed Riverside Sheriffs\u2019 Association, a law enforcement union that endorsed him for governor, has backed Bianco throughout his political career.<\/p>\n

Despite all this, the sheriff might face a tougher reelection fight in 2028.<\/p>\n

Voter turnout in presidential elections tends to be higher than non-presidential cycles. In a county with a plurality of Democratic voters, that could bring out more Democrats unreceptive to a conservative Republican like Bianco.<\/p>\n

The sheriff also faces scrutiny about inmate deaths in county jails.\u00a0A New York Times investigation found that Riverside County\u2019s jails were among the nation\u2019s most lethal, with 19 deaths in 2022 alone.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Bianco stirred outrage among voting rights advocates when his department seized more than 650,000 Riverside County ballots cast in November\u2019s Proposition 50 special election.<\/p>\n

Bianco has said he wants to see if an alleged 45,000-vote gap exists between ballots cast by voters and ballots received by elections officials and if so, what caused it. The investigation is on hold pending a legal challenge by state Attorney General Rob Bonta.<\/p>\n

Riverside County Democratic Party Chair Joy Silver thinks the governor\u2019s race exposed Bianco.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn debates, Bianco appeared unprepared on key topics and became emotional when pressed about his past decisions and statements,\u201d Silver said via email. \u201cHe frequently deflected blame and denied responsibility for issues within his department.\u201d<\/p>\n

California law requires sheriff\u2019s candidates to have a law enforcement background. Silver said her party is \u201ccurrently evaluating several candidates, though none have been named definitively yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retired Riverside County sheriff\u2019s Capt. Michael Lujan lost to Bianco in 2024.<\/p>\n

In a phone interview Tuesday, Lujan said he\u2019s considering running for sheriff in 2028 \u201cbased on the direction the department has gone in terms of integrity and honesty and professionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lujan said he hopes to decide whether to enter the race by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Jack Guerrero, a Riverside County GOP member who also serves as treasurer and a board member for the state Republican Party, sees a bright future for Bianco.<\/p>\n

\u201cSheriff Bianco ran an impressive statewide campaign and succeeded in attracting grassroots supporters throughout the state,\u201d said Guerrero, who previously ran for Riverside County supervisor and California state treasurer. \u201cWhile he did not advance to November\u2019s general election, he demonstrated that there remains a significant constituency for public safety, fiscal discipline and lower taxes \u2014 all themes central to his campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sheriff \u201chas a compelling profile for future political endeavors representing Riverside County,\u201d Guerrero added. \u201cMinimally, I expect his voice will remain an important one in California politics for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Jos\u00e9 Soriano, Angels shut down AL-leading Rays for 4th straight win<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Republican could seek reelection in 2028 or pursue other political paths. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat\u2019s next for Chad Bianco after losing California governor\u2019s race? - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14923\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What\u2019s next for Chad Bianco after losing California governor\u2019s race? 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