California Gubernatorial Election Town Hall: Sheriff Chad Bianco

Join KQED for a series of timely town hall events ahead of the 2026 California governor’s race primary, featuring one of the top four polling primary candidates, who were invited for intimate onstage conversations.

Hosted by KQED’s Political Breakdown, this evening with Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco will address the issues shaping California’s future — including everything from housing and the economy, and tech, to climate, immigration, and the state’s fraught relationship with the Trump administration — guided by questions from a live studio audience. 

Each town hall event will also stream live on the KQED Live YouTube channel. It will also be recorded for later broadcast on television on KQED 9 and on radio at KQED 88.5FM, as well as for podcast feeds as special episodes of KQED’s Political Breakdown. 

Note on Participation Criteria: Due to limited event production capacity, KQED is not able to host every candidate running for governor for an in-person town hall event. KQED established objective selection criteria in advance to limit the number of candidates invited to participate.

KQED notified invited the top four candidates leading in recent independent public polls in March, specifically those from Emerson College Polling and Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. The four candidates who received invitations consistently led in the average of the polls and in each poll individually; they included Steve Hilton, former U.S. Representative Katie Porter, Sheriff Chad Bianco, and Tom Steyer. Candidate Steve Hilton declined the invitation.