California Sheriff Says State’s Elections Are ‘Completely Rigged’ to Keep Dems in Power [WATCH]

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor of California, said during an interview with Fox News’ Lara Trump that the state’s election system is “completely rigged” to maintain Democratic control.

Bianco made the comments as he criticized recent statewide changes to congressional districts approved under Proposition 50.

“Our election process has been rigged to keep the Democrat Party in power, honestly, since the 60s. And every 20 years, people get so fed up with it, they elect a Republican governor. And that’s where we are right now,” Bianco said.

Proposition 50, introduced by Governor Gavin Newsom, drew sharp criticism from Republicans after voters approved the measure.

The plan redraws five congressional seats currently held by Republicans. National Democratic groups and senior party figures, including former President Barack Obama, publicly backed the measure during the campaign.

Republicans have argued that the new maps differ significantly from those created by the state’s independent redistricting commission, which voters approved in an earlier reform effort.

Under the commission’s maps, Republicans controlled 17 percent of California’s congressional districts even though 40 percent of voters supported President Donald Trump in the election.

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Under new maps in Texas — which Newsom said Proposition 50 was intended to counter — Democrats will control 21 percent of congressional seats after receiving 42 percent of the vote.

Bianco said the issue extends beyond political strategy.

“The gerrymandering, districting, really, for me, being at the head of law enforcement, the leader of law enforcement, the Constitution and the constitutional rights of Californians actually matter. And our current government, they despise both the state constitution and the federal constitution,” he told Fox News.

“So this gerrymandering of this election to keep them in power, it made no sense. We know that there was a lot of dishonesty in the advertising. I think it’s going to backfire on what they did here because it’s one more nail in the coffin of we’re tired of being lied to.”

Bianco enters the race at a time when Republicans face long odds in a state dominated by Democrats.

However, new polling suggests that voter concerns about cost of living, homelessness, and other issues could make the race more competitive than in previous cycles.

A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released earlier this month showed Rep. Katie Porter, considered the Democratic frontrunner early in the race, losing support following several widely reported public outbursts and allegations of verbal mistreatment of staff.

The poll indicated that Porter now trails Bianco, though the survey also showed that nearly half of California voters have not yet chosen a candidate.

“She’s the leading Democrat among the various ones that are in there right now,” said poll director Mark DiCamillo.

“But it’s because nobody really on the Democratic side has really jumped out of the pack. It’s kind of a political vacuum at the moment.”