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Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco participates in a gubernatorial debate at Bridges Auditorium on the campus of Pomona College in Claremont, California, on April 28, 2026.<\/p>\n
PATRICK T. FALLON<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
In the hours and days following the close of the polls on June 2, one Democratic gubernatorial hopeful after another conceded and backed primary winner Xavier Becerra.<\/p>\n
But there has not been the same unity among the Republicans, who will need every GOP vote and more to overcome California\u2019s deeply Democratic demographics.<\/p>\n
More than three weeks after Republican Chad Bianco placed a distant fourth in the crowded primary, the Riverside County sheriff has yet to formally acknowledge his loss or back rival Steve Hilton, who will face Becerra in the November election. Bianco is on track to win 10% of the primary vote, compared to around 23% for third-place finisher Democrat Tom Steyer, 25% for Hilton and 28% for Becerra.<\/p>\n
His unwillingness to back Hilton drew a roundabout rebuke from California Republican Party Chair Corrin Rankin.<\/p>\n
\u201cNovember is our opportunity to change California\u2019s direction,\u201d Rankin said in a statement Thursday. \u201cBut it will take every one of us. United, we can end one-party rule, restore common sense, and make California affordable again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bianco did not respond to phone calls seeking comment, and his campaign spokesperson didn\u2019t answer emails. A video posted on his Instagram<\/a> account on June 5 showed Bianco mingling with guests at his election night watch party, overlaid with a speech thanking supporters. At points in that address, Bianco nodded to the possibility he might lose.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the end, I will make absolutely sure that Sacramento hates me and that you love me,\u201d the sheriff said.<\/p>\n Hilton\u2019s campaign declined to comment.<\/p>\n An on-and-off again rivalry during the primary<\/p>\n The two men shared a similar message during the primary, slamming Democrats for mismanaging the state and calling for tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks.<\/p>\n They traded verbal blows earlier this year<\/a>, with Hilton attacking Bianco\u2019s conservative credentials on immigration and the 2020 racial justice protests and the sheriff calling his rival “dishonest\u201d in a February interview with The Sacramento Bee.<\/p>\n The rivals were polling closely before President Donald Trump endorsed Hilton in April, boosting his campaign. In the closing weeks, Bianco seemed to soften his tone toward Hilton. In one debate, Bianco said Hilton was the only other candidate he\u2019d consider supporting. In another, he said that \u201cSteve and I sat here smiling at each other\u201d as their rivals \u201cprove to everyone why they can\u2019t vote for a Democrat.\u201d<\/p>\n Tim Rosales, a GOP consultant who managed Republican John Cox\u2019s 2018 run against Gavin Newsom, said it used to be more common for primary opponents to join forces, sometimes with a unity event.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like, \u2018Now we\u2019re all on the same team, and we go fight the bad guys in November,\u2019 \u201d Rosales said.<\/p>\n But Rosales said that tradition was fading, possibly another casualty of a more cutthroat political climate. Rosales said GOP voters were likely unified behind Hilton regardless of whether he got the nod from Bianco.<\/p>\n Bianco has job-related controversies<\/p>\n Bianco has remained in the news even after his primary defeat. The Press-Enterprise reported a Riverside County supervisor is seeking an investigation<\/a> into whether the sheriff misused public resources, including his uniform, official events, county equipment, and the sheriff\u2019s office\u2019s social media channels, during his run for governor.<\/p>\n The sheriff is also fighting back against a grand jury report released last month<\/a> that highlighted \u201can alarming number of in-custody deaths\u201d in county jails overseen by Bianco and called for strengthening oversight of the facilities. Bianco told KABC earlier this week<\/a> the report is \u201cworth absolutely nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n And Bianco is still involved in a legal fight with Attorney General Rob Bonta over his decision earlier this year to seize county ballots from last year\u2019s Proposition 50 special election. The investigation appeared to be animated<\/a> by a conservative activists\u2019 misunderstanding of the county\u2019s ballot-counting process. In April, the California Supreme Court ordered the investigation halted<\/a> and the ballots returned to a special monitor while it considers Bonta\u2019s argument that Bianco overstepped his constitutional bounds.<\/p>\n The court has yet to schedule oral arguments in that case.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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