GOP sheriff leading California poll rips Newsom’s ‘love affair’ with criminals
Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican who is ranked at the top of recent California gubernatorial polls, believes that Californians finally have had enough and are ready to end Gov. Gavin...
By Fox News · Fox News
Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican who is ranked at the top of recent California gubernatorial polls, believes that Californians finally have had enough and are ready to end Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democratic leaders’ "sick and twisted love affair with criminals." A poll released Wednesday by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies shows that Bianco ranked a close second at 16% among support for candidates running for California governor. Fellow Republican Steve Hilton was ranked first within margin of error at 17%. Both Republicans are ahead of the two top Democratic names, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and former Rep. Katie Porter, who are each at 13%. Bianco, who leads one of the largest sheriff’s offices in the U.S., said in an interview with Fox News Digital that the shocking poll has a simple explanation: California has been prioritizing criminals and illegal immigrants above its own citizens . And after years under Newsom and decades of one-party Democratic rule, he said California is "worse off than it ever has been." GOP CANDIDATE CITES ‘FAILURE’ OF NEWSOM, DEMS AS NEW POLL SHOWS REPUBLICANS LEADING CROWDED CALIFORNIA FIELD Bianco and other Republicans are gaining traction in early polling as crime, cost of living and immigration policies emerge as defining issues in California’s 2026 governor’s race. The state’s handling of public safety and quality-of-life concerns could be reshaping the political landscape in a traditionally Democratic stronghold, creating an opening for GOP candidates to compete. "We're leading in these polls because we are offering a better California," Bianco said. "We are offering a commonsense California, and it's resonating with people." Meanwhile, he said that Newsom and the Democrats’ "absolute refusal" to enforce the law is choking out California businesses. "It's no longer a cost of doing business," he said. "It's driving them out of business." "The weather only keeps you in California for so long," he went on. "You…