Failed sheriff Chad Bianco overwhelmingly rejected by California voters

There are many votes left to count, but one positive development is the overwhelming rejection of Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and his run for governor.

As of this writing, Bianco received just 11.2% of the statewide vote to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. In Riverside County, just 27% of voters thought him suitable for promotion to governor.

Despite Bianco’s tough-on-crime persona, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department actually has the worst crime-solving rate of any sheriff’s department in the state. That’s despite having a significantly higher budget per resident compared to the other departments.

Bianco’s time as sheriff has been marked by scandal, including high numbers of jail deaths, warrantless searches and a remarkable instance in which his deputies lost 60 pounds of methamphetamine.

Across the many debates among the candidates, Californians got to see first-hand how ill-prepared Bianco was for the big stage. This came as no surprise to anyone who has covered Bianco over the years. As columnist Rafael Perez observed after interviewing Bianco in February, “Despite the fact that we don't necessarily have an abundance of philosopher-kings to choose from, it would perhaps be unwise to settle for someone who has trouble controlling their emotions in low-pressure situations.”

As I pointed out back in 2018, Bianco is only in the spotlight because Riverside County’s deputies wanted the prior sheriff out and found in Bianco someone willing to be a deputy union puppet if it meant having the title of sheriff. (Earlier this year, he refused to answer my questions about his views of public employee unions.)

In the years since, Bianco came to the false belief that his popularity in some corners of Riverside County meant he was destined for higher office.

Thankfully, for now, that is not so.

Sal Rodriguez can be reached at salrodriguez@scng.com

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 10:01 PM.