Chad Bianco Just Called Trump’s Endorsement a Coronation as California Democrats Scramble for Swalwell Voters

Trump gave California Republicans his plan to seize the governor's mansion they haven’t had in twenty years.

Chad Bianco called it a coronation.

What Bianco said after Trump endorsed Steve Hilton – and what the California GOP just did about it – still leaves things wide open for a Republican to dethrone Gavin Newsom's party.

How Bianco Defied Trump in the California Governor Race

On April 6, Trump posted to Truth Social with his signature all-caps energy: "Steve Hilton has my COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENT. He will be a GREAT Governor and, importantly, WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!!!"

He called California a state that "has gone to hell" under Gavin Newsom and pledged federal support behind Hilton to help turn it around.

The message was clear: unite behind one candidate and give conservatives a real shot.

Bianco – Riverside County Sheriff, Trump rally regular, the man who said at a 2024 rally "I think it's time we put a felon in the White House" – went on social media the next day and called the president's pick a coronation.

"For too long, politicians and insiders from Sacramento to Washington have tried to pick our leaders for us," Bianco posted. "That's not leadership. That's a coronation."

A man who stood by Trump as he ran for the White House was staying his course.

The California GOP Convention Vote That Could Hand Democrats a Gift

California Republicans gathered in San Diego this past weekend for their annual convention.

Trump had just told them who to back but the endorsement failed to deliver a clear winner.

Hundreds of delegates – some in Trump 2028 hats, many having spent over a thousand dollars on travel to get there – split their votes 49 percent for Bianco and 44 percent for Hilton, with a bloc of delegates declining to back either man.

The party's rules require 60 percent to secure a formal endorsement.

Nobody got it.

Bianco called the result a win. "I have the majority of the vote here so I have the popular vote," he said.

Hilton's team called blocking the endorsement "a major success."

The California Top-Two System Math

Seven Democrats now remain in the running for governor after Eric Swalwell’s past caught up with him and imploded his whole political career .

Two Republicans are running and are leading the Democrat field with Hilton and Bianco at 16% and 14% according to a Democrat internal poll released last week.

Voting in the state’s top-two primary, 61 candidate free-for-all begins in a few weeks.

In California's open primary, all candidates share the same June ballot and only the top two vote-getters reach November – regardless of party.

In recent years that’s meant a Democrat was sure to emerge in November.  

But that’s far less likely this year – still and even perhaps more so now after Swalwell ended his campaign.

Swalwell had effectively been in a tie for third at around 10% with Democrat Billionaire activist Tom Steyr, with former Congresswoman Katie Porter not too far behind.

If Swalwell’s voters break for Steyer, it’s marginally more likely one candidate from each party ends up in the top two.

But it also makes it less likely other Democrats will drop out as they all now scramble for the newly-available support both in terms of votes and campaign cash.

Moneywise, Porter seems the most likely beneficiary of Swalwell's withdrawal but in reality it could just as likely be San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan or any of the other candidates, including Xavier Becerra, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Betty Yee.

Democrats splitting the liberal vote against two unified Republicans meant Hilton and Bianco could both reach November, locking Democrats out and guaranteeing a conservative wins the governorship for the first time in twenty years.

Breitbart's John Nolte called Trump's endorsement "a splash of cold water" on those hopes – warning that elevating Hilton would pull Bianco below second place and let one Democrat sneak through.

But that’s not altogether clear.

Why Bianco Picked This Fight

The sheriff is not a reckless man.

He got more delegate votes than Trump's own pick, and he knew the convention room was behind him.

But delegates at the convention and primary election voters are not one and the same.

Trump's endorsement does not just move the activists who pay a thousand dollars to fly to San Diego for the delegate vote.

It could move the more casual Republican voter across Fresno, the Inland Empire, and San Diego County – the voter who in previous years would have simply asked who the president is backing and marked the ballot accordingly.

That 2026 endorsement may not be what it once was as evidenced by the fact that Bianco won the convention.

And there’s still a lot of time for more shakeups before June.

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Sources:

• Titus Wu, "California Republicans Risk Trump's Wrath as They Break Ranks Over Governor's Race," New York Post, April 12, 2026.
• John Nolte, "Nolte: Trump Endorses Steve Hilton in California Governor's Race," Breitbart, April 6, 2026.
• "California GOP Votes to Endorse Governor Pick After Trump Backs Hilton," Fox News, April 11, 2026.
• "Trump Endorses Republican Steve Hilton in California Governor's Race," Fox News Digital / AP, April 6, 2026.