Republican gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco argued Thursday that the state could achieve oil independence while reducing environmental harm, during an interview on CNN’s The Story Is with Elex Michaelson. Bianco, currently sheriff of Riverside County, emphasized that California imports roughly 80 percent of its oil and that producing it locally would be less environmentally damaging than transporting foreign oil.
“If we were oil independent in our state, like other states are, we could completely fund government just with the oil revenue,” Bianco said. “We have the ability to drill our own oil, pump our own oil, and do it in a way that we can still be good with the environment. We’ve been lied to. We’ve been misled. We’ve been told wrong information about oil. Importing 80 percent of the oil is way more than 10 times worse for the environment than doing it here ourselves.”
Riverside County Sheriff @ChadBianco says if he's elected @CAgovernor, he'd push to eliminate all income taxes in California.
— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) February 20, 2026
He says he'd make up the revenue by "cutting waste" and loosening restrictions on oil production.
"If we were oil independent in our state…we could… pic.twitter.com/MJykNN8kKw
Bianco, who has served over three decades in law enforcement, positioned himself as an experienced public servant contrasting with Republican rival Steve Hilton, a career politician without prior electoral office. He stressed that voters are seeking integrity and leadership outside of the traditional political class.
“I think the ability to know what truly is wrong with California, to be able to relate to Californians, and then Californians, I think, why they’re flocking to my campaign is that California attitude that we have that we’re just looking for someone that we can believe,” Bianco said. “We don’t trust our politicians. We don’t believe our politicians. And that’s different for a sheriff. They look to the sheriff to do the right thing outside of politics and just do stuff for the community, for Californians.”
The candidate also highlighted the state’s immigration policies, reiterating his opposition to amnesty and sanctuary policies. Bianco argued that illegal immigration disproportionately harms both law-abiding immigrants and U.S. citizens.
“We absolutely cannot have something like amnesty. We can’t have that here,” Bianco said. “The immigrant community doesn’t want that here, especially ones that came here and did it the right way. We have a mass influence of California delegates that are Democrats in the national government. Why aren’t they working to fix it? Why are they not saying that they want to fix the immigration policies?”
Bianco suggested that those who have arrived illegally should face consequences, including fines and legal pathways, while criminal actors must be deported. “The ones who are criminals, there’s no question they’ve got to go,” he added.
New polling from Emerson College shows the California governor’s race is tightly contested. Republican Steve Hilton currently leads the field with 17 percent support, while Bianco and Democrat Eric Swalwell each hold 14 percent. Approximately 21 percent of voters remain undecided, creating a virtually three-way race for the June primary, where the top two finishers advance to the November general election.
NEW: CALIFORNIA POLL with @CaliforniaICP
— Emerson College Polling (@EmersonPolling) February 18, 2026
Steve Hilton (R) 17%
Eric Swalwell (D) 14%
Chad Bianco (R) 14%
Katie Porter (D) 10%
Tom Steyer (D) 9%
Xavier Becerra (D) 4%
Matt Mahan (D) 3%
Antonio Villaraigosa (D) 3%
Betty Yee (D) 2%
21% undecided
Watch: https://t.co/X1Ghupak8X… pic.twitter.com/AClOv7CB9j
The candidate framed his approach to oil policy as fiscally transformative, likening California to states such as Alaska and Texas, which fund portions of their budgets through energy revenue. He also emphasized that local production would reduce carbon emissions associated with shipping oil from abroad.
As the primary approaches, Bianco continues to highlight his law enforcement background, experience managing one of the nation’s largest sheriff offices, and his advocacy for local energy production and controlled immigration policy as central pillars of his gubernatorial campaign.
