Civil war declared as Chad Bianco torches Republican gubernatorial rival Steve Hilton, despite lagging in the polls

A bitter GOP civil war is erupting in California’s governor race with Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco torching Republican rival Steve Hilton’s campaign as a “full-blown lie” and claiming he’s been “bought and paid for” by Democrats.In a blistering video message Tuesday, Bianco flatly demanded Hilton quit the race as the two Republicans battle to survive California’s jungle primary system and snag a spot in November’s general election.“Hey Steve, it’s Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, your next governor.Steve, it is time for you to drop out.

Your campaign has already failed,” Bianco said.“It failed in January.You ran out of money last month.

You are now being propped up and funded by Democrats.”The sheriff accused Democratic operatives and super PACs of quietly boosting Hilton because they see the former Fox News host as an easier opponent than the tough-talking lawman.“Democrats and Democrat super PACs are spending a fortune running your campaign,” Bianco charged.Bianco also revived attacks tied to reports involving Hilton’s name appearing in documents connected to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story “Conveniently, one day after you were named in the Epstein files, the career political strategist went to work,” Bianco said.“You immediately started spending all your money attacking me with pay-to-play influencers, social media bots, and a dishonest smear campaign.”The escalating feud comes after Hilton publicly urged Bianco to suspend his longshot campaign in order to consolidate Republican support behind a single candidate capable of reaching the general election.“Chad, let’s do this for the sake of the state we both love,” Hilton wrote in a recent opinion pi...