A pro-Trump sheriff became the first major Republican candidate to enter California's 2026 gubernatorial race.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco on Monday launched his campaign to replace Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited.
President Donald Trump won Riverside, an inland city south of Los Angeles in the blue state, by little more than a point in 2024.
Bianco, 58, told hundreds of supporters in Riverside that the California dream had "turned into a nightmare" for people struggling under Democrat policies, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"What is it that they have given us?" Bianco said of Democrats. "Rampant crime, higher taxes, the highest cost of living in our nation, tent encampments in every major city, more fentanyl deaths, catastrophic fires, a broken homeowners' insurance market. ... Californians deserve better."
Wearing Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots and a gun on his hip, Bianco also said he will overturn a state law protecting undocumented immigrants from deportation.
"The best thing would be to completely abolish SB 54 and repeal it because it does absolutely nothing for public safety," Bianco told Politico. "It does absolutely nothing for immigrant communities. The only thing SB 54 was designed for was to keep criminals from being deported."
The California Values Act (SB 54) prohibits local law enforcement from using its resources for immigration enforcement, with limited exceptions. It went into effect on Jan. 1, 2018.
At Monday's announcement, some of Bianco's supporters waved signs that read, "California is home. You don't have to move."
"[I'm] tired of my friends leaving the state. I'm tired of watching my friends' kids leave this state," Bianco said, the Times reported.
During the pandemic, Bianco said he would not enforce potential COVID-19 vaccine mandates for sheriff department employees. He also supported Proposition 36, the ballot measure voters approved last fall to stiffen criminal penalties for theft and fentanyl dealing.
"We won that fight, and we won it big," Bianco said, adding that California voters rejected Democrat leaders who "tried their best to keep it off our ballot, to prevent all of you from forcing them to do what was right."
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who served from 2003-11, was the last Republican to be elected governor in California.
About 25% of Californians are registered Republicans, nearly 46% are Democrats, and 22% are unaffiliated.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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