Bianco, who is usually seen sporting a cowboy hat, grew up in a small mining city in Utah, transferring to Southern California in 1989. 4 years later, he graduated from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Academy at, in keeping with his marketing campaign bio, the highest of his class.
To many, the 57-year-old is the no-nonsense, law-and-order candidate who championed Proposition 36, the 2024 voter-approved poll measure that elevated penalties for sure drug and retail theft crimes, and has made public security a pillar of his marketing campaign.
Hilton, 56, moved to the San Francisco Bay Space in 2012 and, in 2023, based Golden Collectively. In line with its web site, the group advocates on varied coverage points in California — starting from enterprise local weather and housing to vitality and water and wildfire administration — so as to “get this state back on track.”
“Sheriff Bianco, frankly, is right out of central casting for a conservative Republican. He is a lawman from Inland California who wears cowboy boots every day,” stated Jon Fleischman, former government director of the California Republican Social gathering.
“Hilton, on the other hand, is more of an intellectual. He wants to have more sparring and debates on the ideas and the issues,” Fleischman continued.
Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at USC and UC Berkeley, views Hilton as “much more of a MAGA Republican,” a reference to President Donald Trump‘s supporters, and Bianco as “a more traditional conservative.”
“They both represent critical elements of the party base, and there’s considerable overlap between the two of them,” Schnur stated. “But they both start out with natural constituencies.”
“We can call it pro-Trump and pre-Trump Republicans.”
‘I value my oath’
To be clear, Bianco has additionally aligned himself with the president. He endorsed Trump’s 2024 marketing campaign in an announcement throughout which he sarcastically stated “it’s time we put a felon in the White House,” a reference to Trump’s conviction in a hush-money trial associated to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Requested if he thought-about himself a “MAGA Republican” throughout an interview, Bianco responded by saying, “We should be doing everything we can to make America great again.”
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco pronounces his intention to run for Governor of California at a press convention in Riverside on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (Picture by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Solar/SCNG)
“Somehow making America great again has turned into this violent, extremist thing that the Democrats want people to believe,” he continued. “I want America to be the greatest country in the world 10 times over. And I want California to be the greatest state in the country 10 times over.”
Bianco additionally addressed those that have criticized his affiliation with the Oath Keepers, a corporation with a repute as an anti-government extremist militia group. A few of its members took half within the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, an occasion which Bianco condemned. The wrongful actions of some Oath Keepers, Bianco recommended, shouldn’t mirror on the group as a complete.
The Riverside County sheriff was a one-time dues-paying member of the Oath Keepers greater than a decade in the past. Though now not a member, Bianco continued to defend Oath Keepers as misunderstood. In actuality, he stated, group members are merely individuals who served within the army or regulation enforcement who swore an oath to guard the U.S. Structure.
“I’m extremely proud that I value my oath,” he stated. “Imagine that: You have a politician that actually values his oath. And people want to make that out like (it’s) a bad thing.”
‘Make California Golden Again’
In the meantime, the opposite main GOP candidate within the governor’s race has been touring the state, spreading a message to “make California golden again” — a slogan that reminds voters of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” rallying cry.
Creator and former Fox Information host Steve Hilton listens to video shows as he introduced his run for California governor throughout an occasion in Huntington Seaside, CA on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Hilton, 55, is the most recent to leap into an already crowded area of candidates vying to exchange Gov. Gavin Newsom, who’s prevented from operating once more due to time period limits. (Picture by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Hilton additionally hasn’t shied from associating himself with Turning Level USA founder Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist who was assassinated on Sept. 10. Inside days of the assassination, Hilton modified the bio on his X account to say “we’re going to win this for Charlie.”
Hilton is effectively conscious that many considered Kirk as divisive. However he noticed his not too long ago slain buddy as somebody who tried to interrupt down obstacles between individuals with differing views and produce them collectively for civilized debates — objectives which Hilton can get behind.
“My campaign is focused on positive, practical things we can do to help working people, small businesses,” he stated. “It’s not ideological. It’s not focused on things that divide us.”
Republicans in a blue state
Although some see stark variations between Bianco and Hilton, the 2 have at the very least one factor in widespread: Each can anticipate their highway to the governor’s mansion to be something however a stroll within the park.
It’s been almost 20 years since Californians final elected a Republican governor. And the state stays solidly blue, with Democrats presently having fun with a 20 percentage-point voter registration benefit over Republicans (45% v. 25%).
Nonetheless, each GOP candidates swatted away strategies that the notion of one other Republican governing California is lifeless on arrival.
“People ask, ‘How can a Republican win in California?’ … My question is, ‘How on earth can a Democrat win, given their record?’” requested Hilton, who rattled off a listing of points he stated Californians face.
That checklist included hovering housing prices, fuel costs and electrical energy payments; excessive unemployment charges; an unfriendly enterprise local weather and low-performing colleges — issues he, maybe unsurprisingly, pinned on Democrats who lead the state.
“It’s unimaginable to me that Californians will vote for more of the same when what we’ve got is so destructive to people’s daily lives. People are hurting so badly,” Hilton stated. “How can the Democratic Party be reelected? I think in the end, the facts and substance will be determinative and people will vote for change next year.”
Bianco, in the meantime, projected confidence that voters would select him.
“We can finally vote for something different — and everyone says that I’m different,” he stated. “So either vote for somebody different that’s going to change things or keep voting for the same stuff that we vote for every single election, the dishonest, disingenuous politician that just tells us what they think we want to hear.”
Will Trump endorse?
In California, whoever finishes within the high two spots within the main advances to the final election, no matter political affiliation.
Two polls launched final month confirmed former Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat, main the general area of gubernatorial candidates.
Each polls additionally had Bianco polling higher than Hilton: Within the Citrin Heart and POLITICO ballot, Bianco had 15% voter assist versus 10% for Hilton. (Bianco additionally had the sting over Hilton amongst registered Republicans, 37% to 26%.) Within the survey carried out by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Research and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Instances, Bianco had 10% voter assist in comparison with 6% for Hilton.
Then again, latest polls by Emerson School confirmed Hilton forward of Bianco. In August, Hilton had 12% voter assist in comparison with 7% for Bianco in that survey. This month, Hilton, at 10%, continued to ballot forward of Bianco, who had 8%, although the hole had narrowed.
However the main election remains to be eight months away, and many citizens stay undecided about their selection.
Rob Stutzman, who dealt with communications for then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, stated the first distinction between Hilton and Bianco would be the title accompanying their names on the poll. Early polls counsel that when Bianco is recognized as a “sheriff,” he performs higher, Stutzman stated. He stated it will likely be attention-grabbing to see what Hilton’s poll designation says.
As well as, Stutzman stated, if Trump finally ends up endorsing within the race, that might be a game-changer.
He expects each candidates to vie for the president’s endorsement, regardless of the chance that Democrats would use the endorsement to negatively tie the candidate to Trump.
“If either one of them somehow becomes competitive against a Democrat in a runoff (election), the Democrat will tie them to Trump either way,” Stutzman stated. “So you might as well get the benefit of the Trump endorsement to emerge from the primary.”
Fleischman agreed that if Trump determined to endorse, his assist would finish the candidacy of the one that didn’t get the backing.
“It may be,” he continued, “that Trump decides ‘that’s not something I need to get in the middle of.’”
