Newsom, Dem ‘love story’ with criminals over, predicts sheriff will enter gubernatorial race

Sheriff Chad Bianco, the top-ranked Republican in California’s recent gubernatorial election, believes that Californians have finally had enough and are ready to put an end to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic Party’s “sick and twisted love affair” with the leaders.

A poll released Wednesday by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies shows Bianco ranked second at 16% among the candidates running for governor of California. Fellow Republican Steve Hilton ranked first within a margin of error at 17%.

Both Republicans are ahead of the top two Democratic nominees, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Former Katie Porter, each at 13%.

Bianco, who heads one of the largest sheriff’s offices in the US, said in an interview with Fox News Digital that the shocking polls have a simple explanation: California has been prioritizing criminals and illegal immigrants over its citizens.. And after years under Newsom and decades of one-party Democratic rule, he said California is “worse than ever.”

Bianco and other Republicans are gaining momentum in early voting as crime, cost of living and immigration policies emerge as defining issues in the 2026 California governor’s race. The government’s handling of public safety and quality-of-life concerns could reshape the political landscape in a more democratic environment, opening the door for GOP candidates to compete.

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“We’re leading in these polls because we’re providing a better California,” Bianco said. “We’re providing California commonsense, and it’s affecting people.”

At the time, he said the “absolute refusal” of Newsom and Democrats to implement the law was destroying California businesses.

“It is no longer money to do business,” he said. “It drives them away.”

“The weather keeps you in California for a long time,” he continued. “You can’t work here if you’re not safe. Our farming community is being robbed, their tools are stolen, their products are stolen … (and) our regular businesses are also being robbed.”

Bianco acknowledged that other statistics show that crime is down. However, he argued that this “makes it worse” because the crime categories are being changed to hide the true level of crime in California.

In 2014, before Newsom’s time in the governor’s office, California voters voted to approve a proposal that reduced the penalties for some crimes, such as drug possession and shoplifting, from felonies to misdemeanors.

“Things that were crimes 14 years ago are no longer crimes, so they are not reported,” said Bianco. “Things that were crimes are not crimes, but we still feel them.”

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Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, the winner of the recent California sheriff’s election, accused Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democrats “sick and twisted love affair with criminals.” (Getty Images)

From his time as the sheriff of Riverside and talking to other law enforcement leaders, Bianco believes California politicians have tied law enforcement’s hands behind their backs.

“If people aren’t safe, if people’s kids aren’t safe at school, if they aren’t safe in the park, if people aren’t safe going to the store at night, they won’t want to live here. And that’s why five years in a row, California has lost citizens.”

That, Bianco said, is where California’s sanctuary policies come into play.

California prohibits state and local law enforcement from using resources to enforce or investigate immigration violations and restricts cooperation with ICE, except in certain circumstances, including for persons convicted of serious or relevant crimes.

California also restricts immigration enforcement in sensitive areas such as schools and hospitals by requiring legal authorization for access to non-public areas and limiting the agency’s cooperation with federal authorities. The state also passed a law requiring agents to show identification and restricting the use of face coverings, although its enforcement has been challenged and is still legally contested.

“They know it’s a disaster; they refuse to stop it,” he said. “So, instead, they bring illegal immigrants into the state and give them free stuff off our backs. They take all our taxpayer money and give them free health care, free treatment, free school, free everything, free money to live.”

“Everybody’s tired of it,” he continued, noting, “even the Democrats know, they can’t vote Democrat this time.”

HOMELESS MAN CHARGED FOR ATTACKING SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR’S SECURITY DETAIL ARRESTED DAYS AFTER RELEASED.

Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco (left) and business leader Steve Hilton (right), both Republicans, ranked as the top two incumbents for California gubernatorial office in the latest Berkeley IGS poll. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images; Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Bianco said the way back to California is being led by law enforcement.

He was endorsed by a group of 52 law enforcement leaders and groups, including the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of San Diego County and the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), which is the largest law enforcement organization in the state and represents more than 86,000 public safety members and more than 960 organizations.

Notably, PORAC ​​has also endorsed Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa in the race.

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“Law enforcement is after me completely,” Bianco said.

“California is looking for someone they can trust who will be honest and transparent with them,” he said. “Everyone is aware, if you use common sense, send a young lawman who has been doing it for a long time, to fix corruption and crime.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom for comment but did not receive a statement.

A rumored frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, Newsom has repeatedly emphasized that crime in California is on the decline.

Newsom’s office recently released a statement showing that during his administration California invested $1.7 billion to “fight crime, help local governments hire more police officers, and improve public safety.”

Newsom’s office said his 2023 allocation of $267 million to 55 communities to fight retail crime is “part of the largest investment the government has ever made to fight organized retail crime.”

Commenting on these investments, Newsom said in a January press release, “These operations continue to send a clear message: California will not tolerate organized crime that preys on working families, small businesses, and local communities.”