Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco squirmed Tuesday night in a televised California gubernatorial debate after denying a past remark attributed to him, only to ultimately concede that he had likely said it when pressed by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
“You've actually had some harsh words for your fellow Republican [GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton]; you've called him 'unethical' and 'dishonest,' and said that he is trying to 'manipulate Californians' and 'swindle his way into the Republican side,'" Collins said. “Are you saying that you don't think Republican voters can trust Mr. Hilton?”
Bianco, a strong ally to President Donald Trump, denied having used the quote, claiming “in my entire life, I don’t think I’ve used the word ‘swindle.’”
“It's a quote from you,” Collins said.
Again, Bianco claimed that he’d “never used the word ‘swindle.’”
“You're denying that you said these quotes?” Collins pressed.
Bianco reiterated that he “would never use the word ‘swindle,’” but conceded that he’d likely said something similar to the effect of the quote Collins shared.
Bianco did, in fact, use the word “swindle” when speaking of his GOP opponent back in April during a televised interview with KBAK-TV, a CBS affiliate in Bakersfield, California.
The two shared another near-identical exchange, with Bianco denying having used the word “swindle.” When pressed a fifth time, however, Bianco caved.
“Okay, so you did say the quote?” Collins asked.
After a long pause, Bianco unenthusiastically said “sure.”
Bianco came under scrutiny in March after revealing that his office had seized more than 650,000 ballots cast in a 2025 statewide election as part of a fraud investigation, one that even Republicans had accused of being “politically motivated.”