Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, now running for California governor in 2026, sharply criticized the state’s Democratic leadership on the campaign trail, asserting that the election system has been manipulated to favor his opponents.
“It’s completely RIGGED. Our election process has been rigged to keep the Democrat Party in power… honestly since the ’60s!” Bianco declared during a campaign event, according to a recording shared by his campaign. He added that every couple of decades, voters become so frustrated that they elect a Republican governor, suggesting that the current moment is one of those rare opportunities.
He accused Democrats of using gerrymandering and other political strategies to maintain power. “This gerrymandering of this election to keep them in power… it made no sense,” Bianco said, warning that the Democrats’ tactics “are going to backfire … because it’s one more nail in the coffin of — we’re tired of being lied to.”
Bianco, a vocal critic of California’s current leadership, has focused much of his campaign on public safety, cost of living, and challenging what he calls “activist” Democratic policies. He has repeatedly blamed Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democratic officials for contributing to crime, high taxes, and other systemic failures.
Bianco’s election-rigging claims follow his broader law-and-order messaging. He has previously spoken out against Proposition 47, a controversial 2014 measure that reclassified many non-violent felonies as misdemeanors—arguing that the measure was misrepresented at the ballot box and has worsened crime in the state.
The sheriff’s campaign announcement in February 2025 confirmed that his campaign would prioritize “restoring sanity” to California and challenging the state’s Democratic supermajority.
