Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco confirmed at a rally on Monday that he’ll run for governor in 2026. He said he’ll campaign on fighting crime and turning the Sacramento bureaucracy upside-down.

Wait — Bianco’s a Republican, and a MAGA supporter at that. Can the populist GOP really win a statewide race in liberal California?

That’s part of our Question of the Week for readers.

The main question: At this fairly early stage, before the election in November 2026 at which time Gov. Gavin Newsom terms out of the office, who are you supporting for governor?

The last Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, last served in 2011. And he was more a maverick than a traditional representative of his party. The last conservative Republican, Pete Wilson, finished his term in 1999. Is the Golden State’s electorate after 26 years of moderate to progressive governors fed up with liberal policies and ready for a change at the top? Other possible Republican candidates include Brian Dahle, the former state senator who ran against Newsom in 2022, and celebrity Caitlyn Jenner.

And the Democratic possibilities are legion. Seven candidates have already declared, and more are waiting in the wings. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis is in a common springboard post. Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles mayor, has run before and has good name recognition and a moderate platform. Betty Yee, the former state controller, Tony Thurmond, the superintendent of public instruction and Toni Atkins, formerly president of the California senate, are running. Rick Caruso and Katie Porter could be formidable candidates.

And then there’s Bigfoot — er, the former vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, who brings the most name recognition of all. Seventy-five million Americans voted for her for president just over three months ago. She was attorney general of the state, and senator. If she runs, would she be the clear favorite?

Or is there some other Californian you’d like as our next governor?

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