Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is jumping in the ring to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, becoming the latest candidate to officially announce his campaign for California’s top seat.
Newsom will finish his second and final term as governor at the end of 2026.
Bianco, a Republican and outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, held a press conference on Feb. 17 in Riverside to make the announcement, ending months of public speculation. He said it was time to return common sense to the state.
“We need to elect a leader to fix this state. Someone with the fortitude to make hard decisions and someone with the strength and courage to say no and stand up to the insanity of special interests,” Bianco told supporters after announcing his campaign for governor.
“We will take our message of restoring sanity to every corner of our beautiful state. Our campaign will succeed because it must succeed. The future of California and America depend on it.”
Bianco moved to the state in 1989 “in search of the California dream,” he said. He married his wife, Denise, bought a house, and raised a family.
The sheriff stressed that the state needs public safety to be restored, schools to leave politics out of the classroom, and someone to stand up against special interests.
“As Californians, we want leadership that actually cares about the cost of living and leaders who will do something about it,” he told supporters after announcing his campaign for governor. “We want air conditioning when it’s hot, not rolling blackouts, we want water for crops and animals that feed us, and how about water to fight fires. We want the opportunity to achieve the California dream.
“We demand honesty and transparency from our elected officials. We want lower taxes. We want sanity restored and common sense to prevail.”
As sheriff, Bianco said he has worked to stabilize the department’s finances, increase staffing, and rebuild partnerships with other law enforcement agencies. He was first elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022, and he has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement.
Bianco also advocated for Proposition 36, which was approved by voters in November 2024 and increased penalties for some theft and drug crimes in the state.
Bianco entered a crowded field in a bid to recapture the seat that hasn’t been held by a Republican since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011.
California voters have consistently elected Democrats to state leadership positions in recent years. The state’s election process requires primary candidates from all parties to run against each other. The top two candidates then face a runoff in the general election.
The governor’s race already includes Democrats Stephen Cloobeck, an entrepreneur and businessman, current Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, and State Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond.
Cloobeck said he has met Bianco and the other gubernatorial candidates and said that was the reason he chose to run.
“Sheriff’s Bianco is a nice man, but nice doesn’t mean you’re ready to take on these kinds of responsibilities,” Cloobeck told The Epoch Times. “We need proven leadership—business leadership.”
Cloobeck, who grew up in Encino, said he looked at the other candidates, and felt he would be the best choice to turn the state around.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in Los Angeles on Sept. 25, 2024. Newsom's last term as governor will end in 2026. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
“We have a failed social experiment on our hands,” Cloobeck said. “Leadership has failed us. Our current leadership has been tone deaf and that’s the reason people have left. We need to open California back up for business.”
Cloobeck, who has owned businesses across the hospitality industry, was featured on two episodes of the hit television series “Undercover Boss,” where he was awarded the most funding in the show’s history.
In 2007, Cloobeck acquired Sunterra Corporation and turned it into the Diamond Resorts International, where he served as chairman and CEO. He is also the chairman of the board of the U.S. Corporation for Travel Promotion.
He said he also spends his time supporting multiple charities, and also served as chairman of the board for the Nevada Cancer Institute. In 2017, he donated $400,000 to the Las Vegas shooting fundraising campaign to benefit victims of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting.
Stephen Cloobeck, an entrepreneur and CEO, appears on an episode of EpochTV's "California Insider." He is running for governor in 2026. (California Insider)
Thurmond launched his bid for governor in September 2023.
His mother, Cecilia, died when he was 6 years old, and his father, who was in the military, left the family after the Vietnam War, he said. He and his brother were raised by a family member, living in poverty and on public assistance.
“For us, public schools weren’t just an equalizer, they gave us a pathway to a better life,” he said in a video announcing his bid. “I’m running for governor to be a voice for those who need one.”
He said that as a social worker, he established a social housing program and taught life skills to juvenile inmates.
Thurmond said he supports raising the minimum wage, jobs that pay the bills, housing and affordable rents, fully funded public schools, higher pay for teachers, taking weapons of war off the streets, a faster transition to renewable energy, inclusivity, and safer neighborhoods.
California State Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond speaks during a news conference at Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond, Calif., on May 17, 2022. Thurmond launched his bid for governor in September 2023. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Thurmond has been endorsed by several former and current state lawmakers and U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman. He is also supported by the Black Women Organized for Political Action, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the National Association of Social Workers.
Kounalakis entered the race in April 2023 in a bid to become the first female governor of California.
“I will fight fiercely to make sure every Californian has the chance to walk the path of the CA dream, just like I have,” she wrote in a social media post.
Lt. Gov. of California Eleni Kounalakis speaks onstage during EMILYs List's 2023 Pre-Oscars Breakfast at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. on March 7, 2023. Kounalakis announced her bid for governor in April 2023. (Araya Doheny/Getty Images for EMILYs List)
Kounalakis, 58, is the child of Greek immigrant parents and lives in San Francisco with her husband. She was the ambassador to Hungary in the Obama administration from 2010 to 2013. Former Gov. Jerry Brown appointed her to chair the California Advisory Council for International Trade and Investment in 2014 before she was elected lieutenant governor.
Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat who has served as mayor of Los Angeles and as the speaker of the California Assembly, also threw his hat in the ring in July 2024.
In a campaign video, he called himself a “problem solver.”
“I know we can do big things for California, because I’ve done them before,” Villaraigosa said. “We have serious problems, and money alone won’t fix them. We need to focus on what works.”
As leader of the state Assembly, Villaraigosa said he worked with both parties to balance the state budget with billions of dollars in reserve to prevent cuts to schools and public safety.
He also said he hired 1,000 police officers and took guns off the streets, while increasing graduation rates.
“My results led President Obama to say I was one of America’s finest leaders,” he said.
Another possible candidate, former Vice President Kamala Harris, however, would be the frontrunner in the race if she decided to run, according to an Emerson College poll.
The poll, published on Feb. 13, shows the former vice president leading the pack with 57 percent of registered voters.
Former Rep. Katie Porter, who has hinted at a possible run for the seat, would take second place with 9 percent of the vote, followed by Villaraigosa and Kounalakis respectively. Seventeen percent remained undecided, the poll found.
The poll was conducted Feb. 10 through Feb. 11. About 1,000 registered voters were surveyed. The poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
