Riverside County's 2 Top Lawmen Close In On Re-Election Wins

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County's Sheriff Chad Bianco and District Attorney Mike Hestrin were closer to re-election victory Wednesday night.

Although approximately 136,000 vote-by-mail and 2,000 provisional ballots still must be processed, and ballots postmarked on or before Election Day also remain to be counted, the two lawmen continue to lead in the primary election results.

Bianco had garnered 58.53 percent of the vote over challenger Michael Lujan's 41.47 percent as of Wednesday night's tally. If the lead holds, Bianco will get the outright victory and avoid a Nov. 8 runoff. California's Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act applies only to partisan races.

Hestrin could also avoid a runoff if he can maintain a majority lead. As of Wednesday night, he was at 53.23 percent.

Bianco was first elected in 2018; Hestrin was first elected in June 2014.