Jump to content

Chad Bianco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chad Bianco
Official portrait, 2025
14th Sheriff-Coroner of Riverside County
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 7, 2019
Preceded byStanley Sniff
Personal details
BornJohnny Chad Bianco
(1967-10-09) October 9, 1967 (age 58)[1][2]
Hill Air Force Base, Utah, U.S.
PartyRepublican
SpouseDenise Bianco
Children4
EducationCollege of Eastern Utah
University of Utah
Columbia Southern University (BS)
WebsiteOffice website
Campaign website
Police career
DepartmentRiverside Sheriff
Service years1993–present
RankSheriff

Johnny Chad Bianco (born October 9, 1967)[3][1][2] is an American law enforcement officer who has served as the sheriff of Riverside County, California, since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Bianco has been affiliated with the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. He was a candidate for governor of California in the 2026 election.[4]

Early life and education

[edit]

Johnny Chad Bianco was born on October 9, 1967, at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.[5] He has two younger brothers.[5]

Bianco moved from Utah to California in 1989,[6] and in 1993 attended the San Bernardino Sheriff's Academy. He graduated at the top of his class, and joined the Riverside County Sheriff's Department shortly after graduation.[5]

Career

[edit]

Before the 2014 election, Bianco worked as a Lieutenant at the Hemet police station.[7] In 2014, Bianco first ran for sheriff, but was unsuccessful.[6]

Sheriff of Riverside County

[edit]

In 2018, Bianco ran again, and was successfully elected Riverside County sheriff.[8] He was re-elected in 2022 with about 60% of votes for a term set to last until 2028 due to a state law changing sheriff election years to match presidential ones.[9][10] Bianco has been hosted on Fox News, as well as by conservative pastors on YouTube channels and podcasts.[9] As of 2023, Bianco's department had over 3,600 employees and was managing five jails.[11]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bianco stated that he would not enforce Coronavirus mandates and did not plan to get vaccinated.[12][13] He tested positively for the virus in January 2021 with mild symptoms, after which he started quarantining at his home.[13]

His department has the lowest closure rate for Part 1 property crimes in California, performing at less than 25% of the overall average.[14] Democrat activist Stephen J. Cloobeck sued him for use of the uniform and badge during campaign events and media interviews, alleging a violation of California Government Code 3206. That law, addressing political activities of public employees, states: "No officer or employee of a local agency shall participate in political activities of any kind while in uniform.[15]

In 2022, Riverside County jails registered 18 inmate deaths, the biggest number in 15 years. The spike prompted multiple civil lawsuits against the county's prison facilities and Bianco himself.[16][17][18] In 2023, Bianco's department was placed under investigation by the California Department of Justice to determine if the organization had "engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing amid deeply concerning allegations relating to conditions of confinement in its jail facilities, excessive force, and other misconduct."[19][20] In relation to those incidents, Bianco claimed that "every single one of these inmate deaths was out of anyone's control".[16]

Bianco was awarded the 2023 Sheriff Award by the conservative think tank the Claremont Institute.[10]

In 2025, Bianco's handling of the arrest of Las Vegas resident Vem Miller near a Donald Trump rally led to a $100 million federal lawsuit against him and Riverside County, with Miller alleging defamation and civil rights violations after Bianco claimed the arrest thwarted a potential assassination attempt.[21][22] The lawsuit was later dismissed; Miller was ordered in January 2026 to complete a gun-safety course and 40 hours of community service by a county judge.[23]

In September 2025, a college student at California State University, San Marcos was arrested by university police after allegedly making online death threats against Bianco. She posted bail one day after her arrest. Bianco described the threat as "sickening", and called on elected politicians to condemn political violence and "cool the temperature".[24]

On July 14, 2026, Bianco announced his intention to seek a third term as Sheriff of Riverside County which would expire in 2034, should Bianco be re-elected[25][26]

2026 gubernatorial campaign

[edit]

Bianco announced his run for Governor of California in the 2026 California gubernatorial election on February 17, 2025, becoming the first major Republican to enter the race.[4][27][28]

On February 21, Bianco attended a press conference in San Diego with Republican leaders to promote State Senate Republican Minority Leader Brian Jones' proposed bill SB554 to weaken the California Senate Bill 54 of 2017 that limits law enforcement's ability to cooperate with ICE.[29][30]

In April 2026, Bianco ordered the seizure of ballots from California's 2025 election, citing concerns about election integrity, a focus of his political campaign. A Riverside County judge and the California Supreme Court subsequently ordered the search warrants authorizing the seizure to be unsealed.[31] The affidavits revealed that their case rested solely on claims from a citizens' activist group; the group was overseen by Shasta County's Registrar of Voters.[31]

In May 2026, Bianco was polling in the low teens in the election for California governor.[32] He ultimately failed to advance to the November runoff.[33]

Political positions

[edit]

Bianco has portrayed himself as a law and order candidate, and supported Proposition 36.[34] Bianco has proposed reducing homelessness in California by expanding alcohol and drug treatment centers.[35]

In 2018, Bianco walked in a Palm Springs Pride Parade.[7] In June 2020, Bianco oversaw police presence at a Black Lives Matter protest in Riverside. Here, Bianco showed support for and knelt with protestors, during the George Floyd protests;[36] at the protest, he was hit with a thrown screwdriver.[37] He later became critical of the movement, describing the protests as destructive riots in 2023.[38]

During the 2024 presidential election, Bianco endorsed Donald Trump, stating in a sarcastic video that "It's time we put a felon in the White House", referring to Trump's felony conviction in May 2024.[39]

Personal life

[edit]

Bianco and his wife Denise live in Woodcrest, California;[6] they attend Sandals Church in Riverside.[6] He is married and has four adult children.[40]

Following a hacking incident in September 2021 against a database belonging to the Oath Keepers, Bianco, along with over 200 law-enforcement officers, was exposed as a former member of the organization.[41][8][42] He later stated that he had paid for a $40 one-year membership in the organization in 2014 and did not renew it for the next year. Bianco has since disavowed the group's violent conduct, although he maintained that he is "proud" to be an Oath Keeper during a 2026 gubernatorial debate.[43][41][44][45]

Electoral history

[edit]

2014

[edit]
2014 Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner-Public Admin. election[46]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Stan Sniff 108,568 62.27%
Nonpartisan Chad Bianco 65,771 37.73%
Total votes 174,339 100.0

2018

[edit]
2018 Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner-Public Admin. election[47][48]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Chad Bianco 109,997 36.29%
Nonpartisan Stan Sniff 95,764 31.59%
Nonpartisan Dave Brown 59,200 19.53%
Nonpartisan Miguel Garcia IV 38,161 12.59%
Total votes 303,122 100.0
General election
Nonpartisan Chad Bianco 323,671 58.29%
Nonpartisan Stan Sniff 231,650 41.71%
Total votes 555,321 100.0

2022

[edit]
2022 Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner-Public Admin. election[49]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Chad Bianco 210,335 60.71%
Nonpartisan Michael J. Lujan 136,100 39.29%
Total votes 346,435 100.0

2026

[edit]
2026 California gubernatorial election[50]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Xavier Becerra 2,591,857 27.98
Republican Steve Hilton 2,277,318 24.59
Democratic Tom Steyer 2,110,707 22.79
Republican Chad Bianco 941,708 10.17
Democratic Katie Porter 403,908 4.36
Democratic Matt Mahan 327,537 3.54
Democratic Antonio Villaraigosa 104,107 1.12
Democratic Tony Thurmond 63,762 0.69
Peace and Freedom Ramsey Robinson 51,803 0.56
Democratic Betty Yee (withdrawn) 40,873 0.44
Democratic Eric Swalwell (withdrawn) 28,164 0.30
Republican Tim Nelson 23,712 0.26
Green Butch Ware (write-in) 22,493 0.24
Republican Randeep S. Dhillon 21,937 0.24
Democratic Barack D. Obama Shaw 16,716 0.18
Democratic Carolina Buhler 15,013 0.16
Republican Leo Samuel Zacky 14,708 0.16
Republican Gretha Solórzano 12,563 0.14
Democratic Matthew Chase Levy 11,059 0.12
Libertarian Tom Woodard (withdrawn) 9,328 0.10
Democratic Erin "Zez" Zezulak 9,251 0.10
Democratic Louis A. De Barraicua 8,851 0.10
Democratic Mohammad Arif 8,458 0.09
Republican Leo Naranjo IV 8,099 0.09
No party preference Nancy D. Young 7,012 0.08
Republican James Athans Jr. 6,633 0.07
No party preference Joseph Cabrera 6,196 0.07
Republican David Zickefoose 5,882 0.06
Democratic Satish Rao 5,668 0.06
No party preference Christine R. Sarmiento 5,643 0.06
No party preference Jon Henderson 5,589 0.06
Republican Alicia Olivia Lapp 5,370 0.06
No party preference Amanda Martin 5,234 0.06
No party preference Frederic C. Schultz 5,230 0.06
Republican Rafael M. Hernandez 5,223 0.06
Democratic Scott P. Shields 5,043 0.05
Democratic Derek Grasty 4,994 0.05
Democratic Larry Azevedo 4,675 0.05
No party preference Elaine Culotti 4,483 0.05
Republican Patricia De Luca Basualdo 4,064 0.04
No party preference Mauro Alberto Orozco 4,052 0.04
Democratic Raji Rab 3,606 0.04
Democratic Sophia Edum-a-Sam 3,550 0.04
No party preference Brent Maupin 3,132 0.03
Democratic Akinyemi Agbede 3,037 0.03
No party preference Lewis Herms 2,995 0.03
No party preference Naomi Bar-Lev 2,744 0.03
No party preference Daniel Mercuri 2,667 0.03
Republican Ché Ahn (write-in) 2,419 0.03
Democratic Gary Howard Kidgell 2,415 0.03
Democratic Joel E. Jacob 2,350 0.03
Democratic Thunder Parley 2,320 0.03
No party preference Margaret Trowe 2,286 0.02
No party preference LivingForGod AndCountry DeMott 2,206 0.02
No party preference Reza Safarnejad 1,990 0.02
No party preference Duane Terrence Loynes Jr. 1,905 0.02
No party preference Don J. Grundmann 1,903 0.02
No party preference Anne Komarovsk 1,535 0.02
No party preference Dawit Kellel 1,360 0.01
No party preference Sam Sandak 1,222 0.01
No party preference Max Fomin 842 0.01
No party preference Lukasz Adam Filinski 527 0.01
No party preference Serge Fiankan 488 0.01
No party preference Sean Forbes (write-in) 22 0.00
Democratic Jibri J. Peavy (write-in) 10 0.00
No party preference Dirk Langer (write-in) 8 0.00
Democratic Kalid Meky (write-in) 5 0.00
No party preference Michael J. Dilger (write-in) 1 0.00
Total votes 9,262,468 100.00

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 "Happy Birthday to Sheriff Chad Bianco! Thank you for your lifetime of dedication to public safety, leadership, and service to our community. Your commitment inspires us all to stand a little taller and give a little more. Wishing you a day filled with appreciation, good company, and God's continued blessing". www.instagram.com. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Riverside - Happy Birthday to our Sheriff, Chad Bianco! @sheriffbianco No matter how busy the schedule or how heavy the load, you always show up for your people and for this county. Thanks for leading from the front and setting the standard every single day. #HappyBirthday #RiversideSheriff | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Meet Chad | Chad Bianco for California Governor". February 16, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Sharp, Julie (February 17, 2025). "Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco announces run for California governor - CBS Los Angeles". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Joseph, Brian (May 23, 2025). "Better know a CA gubernatorial candidate: Chad Bianco". Capitol Weekly.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Horseman, Jeff (February 18, 2025). "5 things to know about Chad Bianco, Republican candidate for California governor". The Press-Enterprise.
  7. 1 2 Metz, Sam (November 5, 2018). "Election 2018: Chad Bianco elected in heated Riverside County Sheriff's race". Desert Sun.
  8. 1 2 "Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco acknowledges he was dues-paying member of Oath Keepers in 2014". ABC7 Los Angeles. October 6, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  9. 1 2 "Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco isn't backing down in second term". Press Enterprise. January 10, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Wilson, Jason (November 6, 2023). "Far-right US thinktank to give award to extremist sheriff leading 'disaster' office". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco sworn in for second term". Press Enterprise. January 5, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's refusal to enforce coronavirus orders gets national attention". Press Enterprise. December 18, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco tests positive for coronavirus, says symptoms are mild". Press Enterprise. January 28, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  14. ↑ "The Sheriff With California's Worst Crime-Solving Record Is Running for Governor". www.cjcj.org. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  15. ↑ Damien, Christopher. "Chad Bianco accused of breaking law by campaigning in sheriff's uniform". The Desert Sun. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  16. 1 2 Janapati, Spandana (January 16, 2024). "With the rise of civil lawsuits against Riverside County, Sheriff Bianco's response elicits concern". Highlander. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Riverside County sheriff faces another lawsuit over inmate death". KTLA. January 3, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  18. ↑ Damien, Christopher (October 31, 2023). "Amid jail deaths and lawsuits, groups urge Riverside County supervisors to rein in sheriff". The Desert Sun. Palm Springs, California. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Governor Chad Bianco? That's a really bad idea". Orange County Register. April 21, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  20. ↑ "California Department of Justice opens needed investigation into troubled Riverside County Sheriff's Department". Orange County Register. February 23, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Defamation Lawsuit Filed Against Sheriff Bianco". www.nbcpalmsprings.com. March 11, 2025. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  22. ↑ "New defamation lawsuit filed against Sheriff Bianco over 'assassination' comment". Press Enterprise. March 11, 2025. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Gun charge against man arrested outside Trump rally in Coachella headed toward dismissal". Press-Enterprise. February 16, 2026.
  24. ↑ Rokos, Brian (September 30, 2025). "College student accused of threatening life of Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco". The Press-Enterprise.
  25. ↑ "Chad Bianco to run for reelection as Riverside County Sheriff in 2028". Press Enterprise. July 14, 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  26. ↑ Reyes, Jesus (July 14, 2026). "Sheriff Chad Bianco confirms reelection campaign in 2028". KESQ. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to announce run for California governor | abc7.com". abc7.com. February 17, 2025. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  28. ↑ Service • •, City News (February 17, 2025). "Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco announces run for governor". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  29. ↑ Black, Abbie (February 21, 2025). "State Senate minority leader proposes overhaul of California's 'sanctuary state' law". cbs8.com. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  30. ↑ Jones, Senator Brian. "Senate Minority Leader Jones Leads Effort to Overhaul California's Sanctuary State Law | Senator Brian Jones". sr40.senate.ca.gov. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  31. 1 2 "Unsealed Warrants Reveal Weak Basis for Bianco Ballot Seizure". California Wave. April 12, 2026. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  32. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/california-governor-election-polls-2026.html
  33. ↑ "California Governor Primary Election Results". The New York Times. June 2, 2026. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
  34. ↑ "In the race for governor, Steve Hilton has a new target: fellow Republican Chad Bianco". The Press-Enterprise. February 7, 2026.
  35. ↑ Shriner, Jake (March 5, 2026). "Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco sits down with Eyewitness News".
  36. ↑ Rodriguez, Sal (February 13, 2026). "The knee that continues to haunt Chad Bianco — but really shouldn't". The Press-Enterprise.
  37. ↑ Rokos, Brian (June 1, 2020). "Police push back crowd at Riverside protest over George Floyd's death". The Press-Enterprise.
  38. ↑ Horseman, Jeff (January 9, 2023). "Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco isn't backing down in second term". The Press-Enterprise.
  39. ↑ Schlepp, Travis (June 3, 2024). "'It's time we put a felon in the White House,' California sheriff says". KTLA 5.
  40. ↑ "Sheriff Chad Bianco | Riverside County Sheriff, CA". www.riversidesheriff.org. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  41. 1 2 "California sheriff admits he once was member of far-right Oath Keepers group linked to Capitol rioters". The Washington Post. October 7, 2021.
  42. ↑ Seidman, Lila (October 7, 2021). "Riverside County sheriff was once a member of an extremist group with ties to the Jan. 6 insurrection". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  43. ↑ Damien, Christopher (October 6, 2021). "Sheriff Bianco defends his past Oath Keeper membership as some call for his resignation". The Desert Sun. Palm Springs, California. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  44. ↑ Ingrassia, Jake (October 6, 2021). "Sheriff Chad Bianco paid membership dues to the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group". KESQ. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  45. ↑ "Republican CA gubernatorial candidate 'very proud' of Oath Keeper support | CNN Politics". CNN.
  46. ↑ "Riverside County CONSOLIDATED PRIMARY ELECTION June 3, 2014". Riverside County. 2014.
  47. ↑ "Riverside County CONSOLIDATED PRIMARY ELECTION June 5, 2018". Riverside County. 2018.
  48. ↑ "Riverside County CONSOLIDATED GENERAL ELECTION November 6, 2018". Riverside County. 2018.
  49. ↑ "STATEWIDE DIRECT PRIMARY ELECTION COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE June 7, 2022 Official Election Results" (PDF). 2022. p. 12.
  50. ↑ "Primary Election * June 2, 2026 - STATEMENT OF VOTE" (PDF). California Secretary of State. July 10, 2026. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 11, 2026. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chad_Bianco&oldid=1364284766"