Riverside County Sheriff among leading contenders in Governor’s race

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) - Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is among the leading contenders in today's primary election for governor, where a field of more than five dozen candidates may mean small percentages will determine which two will go on to battle it out in the November general election.

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Bianco, a Republican, declared his candidacy in the winter of 2025 and has carried his campaign beyond the county's boundaries, netting relatively high poll numbers this year, with recent surveys showing him consistently in the top five out of the 61 candidates listed on the primary ballot.

Because California's is an open primary, the choices run the gamut, without concern for party affiliation. However, polls continually reflect the strongest preferences are for recognizable Democrat and Republican candidates.   

Fellow GOP contender Steve Hilton, a political commentator born in the United Kingdom, has been a front-runner during the campaign, alongside Biden administration-era Secretary of Health & Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a decades-long politician in the Golden State; Tom Steyer, a Democrat billionaire hedge fund manager; and UC Irvine School of Law Professor Katie Porter.  

Bianco has cast himself as the conservatives' choice in the gubernatorial race, staking out positions on energy, immigration, housing and public safety.

He has called for increasing ``penalties on repeat offenders ... to keep dangerous criminals off our streets,'' while bolstering ``legal aid and mental health services for crime victims.''

The candidate has made border security a priority in his platform, saying California's de facto ``sanctuary state polices'' should be abolished to combat human trafficking and stanch the influx of illegal drugs.

The two-term sheriff stirred controversy earlier this year when he began procuring search warrants and seizing tens of thousands of ballots cast in the 2025 special election, after a civic watchdog group provided volunteer audits indicating discrepancies and possible fraud in the tabulation, according to Bianco.   

That led to a brief court battle between the sheriff and state prosecutors, who wanted the seizures stopped. Bianco voluntarily suspended the investigation.

Bianco has been accused of overplaying or posturing in public, including during the downtown Riverside anti-law enforcement riots of 2020 when he took a knee alongside Black Lives Matter demonstrators, and more recently when he initially suggested that his deputies had foiled a planned assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, during the candidate's appearance at a Coachella Valley rally in October 2024.   

The man at first accused of having criminal intent, Vem Miller of Las Vegas, turned out to be a Trump supporter who had brought firearms with him into a VIP parking lot near the rally venue. He openly declared them to the first deputy he encountered while driving into the lot. Bianco later backtracked on his original allegations.   

Hilton, who has been endorsed by Trump, has spent most of his career as a political strategist and observer.   

The Englishman worked for former Prime Minister David Cameron, after which he moved to California, where he's resided for close to 15 years.   

"I've always believed that people, families, communities -- and businesses -- do better when they have the power to chart their own course,'' he said on his campaign website. "That means building a foundation of security and opportunity ... That's what government should be doing, not bossing you around with endless rules, regulations and bureaucracy."  

Hilton has made tax reductions, spending limits and curbs on bureaucratic red tape some of his central campaign themes.   

He said that, if elected, he would ``simplify California's administrative state'' and introduce ``sunset dates'' on regulations that are not explicitly renewed by the Legislature within a reasonable period of time.

Hilton has leveled sharp criticism at Becerra over a campaign finance scandal involving two of the candidate's employees caught misappropriating funds. Becerra has denied any knowledge of the fraud.  

The former congressman was one of the latest entrants to the gubernatorial race but has surged to first place in polls.   

His campaign web portal lists ``Fighting Donald Trump'' among his leading priorities. The candidate said that will entail ``stopping ICE overreach,'' ensuring ``reproductive freedom'' and ``protecting `Dreamers' from deportation.''

Becerra additionally has vowed to ``lower costs (and) put families first.'' However, his campaign does not address any specific economic proposals, only ``standing up to price gouging and unjustified rate hikes.''

The candidate has said he will elevate efforts to reduce homelessness and implement policies that promote increased affordable housing.   

Becerra has taken Steyer to task on several issues from his past, notably ``setting up tax shelters'' offshore and ``making money off Donald Trump's casinos.''

Other than Bianco, Steyer is one of the candidates who has been among the more active in Riverside County, mainly courting unions for endorsements.   

The candidate has put forward plans to cut gas prices and electricity costs, pointing to unwarranted surcharges and the excessive influence of monopolies, particularly with utilities.

"By building a performance-based, technology-driven model powered by clean energy, we can restore affordability, strengthen wildfire resilience, and cut rates by 25%,'' Steyer said on his campaign site.

The longtime Democrat has said ``corporations and billionaires (should) pay more taxes,'' and he has highlighted a desire to generate greater employment in the television and film industry statewide by combating runaway production with stay-at-home incentives, as well by eliminating burdensome regulations.   

Steyer's and Becerra's positions on issues like immigration enforcement and healthcare are almost indistinguishable.   

Porter has trailed the others in most voters' surveys, but she has generally ranked in the top five.

The law professor and former congresswoman has a platform not unlike her fellow Democrats, citing her belief that U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement should be abolished, more funds should be spent on ``ending homelessness'' and there should be ``single-payer healthcare'' subsidized by government.  

She has also declared a plank to ``eliminate state income tax for Californians making under $100,000.''  

``Californians are in a cost crisis,'' she said on her campaign page. ``But we cannot just talk about affordability. We cannot just say empty words about vague ideas. We need to take action that families and communities will actually feel.''