Election 2026 · Los Angeles County

LA County Sheriff

Published September 29, 2026 · Updated October 2, 2026

Robert G. Luna (incumbent) and Alex Villanueva are the candidates for LA County Sheriff on the November 3, 2026 ballot.

The Sheriff runs the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which says it is the largest sheriff's department in the United States, with nearly 18,000 budgeted sworn and professional staff. The department provides law enforcement to 42 contract cities and 140 unincorporated communities, runs the county jail system, handles security at County courthouses, and polices county parks, community colleges and public transit, including Metro.

Summary by CityHallPass, not the official text or legal advice. The official text controls: LA County's official election information.

What it means for the City of LA

The City of Los Angeles has its own Police Department, so the Sheriff's deputies aren't the main patrol force in most City neighborhoods. The Sheriff's Department does run the county jail system, handle security at County courthouses, and police public transit such as Metro, county parks and community colleges, including those inside the City.

Primary results, June 2, 2026

8 candidates. No one won a majority, so the top two, Robert G. Luna and Alex Villanueva, advanced to November 3. Total votes for Sheriff: 1,945,586. Results as posted by the County Registrar on June 26, 2026. Certified results

The candidates

The job

Powers. The Sheriff runs the Sheriff’s Department (LASD). Its FY 2025 Community Policing Plan says it provides law enforcement to 42 contract cities and 140 unincorporated communities. It also covers 38 superior courts, ten community colleges, county parks, and public transit including Metro, Metrolink and Foothill Transit (LASD plan). Its Court Services Division handles security at all County courthouses (LASD). Its Custody Division runs the County jails for both sentenced and pretrial inmates (LASD). CalMatters reports the jails hold about 14,000 people on an average day in eight facilities (CalMatters). The next sheriff will also help run security for the 2028 Olympic Games, LAist notes (LAist).

Budget. The Sheriff is elected, but the Board of Supervisors controls the department’s budget. The Civilian Oversight Commission says: “The ultimate budget decisions rest with the Board of Supervisors” (COC).

• The recommended FY 2026-27 budget gives the Sheriff $4.09 billion in gross appropriations and 17,369 budgeted positions. That is about 8% of the County’s $48.8 billion recommended budget (County CEO, by department; County CEO).
• Of that, $1.92 billion is net County cost, meaning local general fund money. Custody (the jails) is $988 million with 4,754 positions. Court Services is $440 million with 2,098 positions (County CEO, Sheriff budget summary, May 1, 2026).
• The department spends more than it is budgeted. It spent $4.48 billion in FY 2024-25. For FY 2025-26 its budget was $4.21 billion and its estimated spending $4.57 billion. The County set aside $243.9 million in reserve for the department that year and, after counting it, still projected a $98.2 million deficit (County CEO, Sheriff budget summary).
• The County’s final FY 2026-27 budget, posted September 29, 2026, totals $54.2 billion. The County lists $4.8 billion in abuse-claim settlements under Assembly Bill 218 among its pressures (County CEO).

Oversight. Several County bodies watch the department.

• The Office of Inspector General was created in 2014 and the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission in 2016, the Commission says (COC resolution, 2022). The Commission has nine members and advises the Board (COC).
• In 2020, voters approved Measure R, which gave the Commission power to subpoena witnesses and records, the LA Times reported (LA Times).
• In October 2025, the Governor signed AB 847, which lets civilian oversight bodies view confidential officer records in private sessions (LA Times).
• The Sybil Brand Commission inspects the jails. In 2025 County officials discussed eliminating it to save about $40,000 a year (LA Times).

Facts that shape the job now.

• Jail deaths. The LA Times reported 46 in-custody deaths in 2025, up from 32 in 2024. The department said half of the 2025 deaths were natural (LA Times). The Daily News counted 27 deaths in 2026 as of early September, citing the department (Daily News).
• Deputy gangs. A 2021 Loyola Law School report found 18 deputy gangs had operated in the department over 50 years, LAist reported (LAist). A September 2026 motion by Supervisor Holly Mitchell lists 27 past or current groups (Daily News).
• Staffing. LAist reports 8,703 sworn personnel and 5,431 civilian positions (LAist, Sept 8, 2026). The LA Times reports recruiting shortfalls, deputies leaving for other agencies and heavy overtime (LA Times).

Records

Robert Luna

Before Sheriff. Luna worked 36 years at the Long Beach Police Department. He started as a reserve officer in 1985 and was chief from 2014 (campaign bio).

Oversight.

• His first act as Sheriff, the department says, was to let the Inspector General back into its buildings and restore access to its systems (LASD statement via SCV News). The LA Times confirms that Villanueva had banned the Inspector General in 2022 and that Luna restored access (LA Times).
• In February 2025 the Civilian Oversight Commission subpoenaed department records on three use-of-force cases. Luna sued the Commission on March 19, 2025, asking a court to decide whether state confidentiality law allowed him to hand over the records. He said he was acting on County Counsel’s advice: “This isn’t an issue of trying to hide any information” (LA Times).

Deputy gangs.

• The department says Luna created the Office of Constitutional Policing, led by former U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker, to investigate deputy gang allegations. It also says he issued a policy banning law enforcement gangs, requires new deputies to sign a pledge not to join one, and asks candidates for captain and above whether they belong to a group or have a group tattoo (LASD statement via SCV News).
• Of the 26 Commission recommendations from March 2023 that apply to the department, the department says it has complied with 19, partly complied with 5 and is not carrying out 2 (LASD statement via SCV News).
• The department told the Inspector General it found no group that meets the legal definition of a deputy gang in October to December 2025 (Daily News).

Jails.

• In March 2026, after 10 deaths in under three months, Luna asked the National Institute of Corrections to review the jails (LA Times).
• The department says it has put body-worn cameras in the jails, cut use-of-force incidents 16% in 2025, opened a mental health assessment area at the Inmate Reception Center, and spent $300 million on pest control and custodial maintenance (LA Times).
• An Inspector General review flagged the quality or timing of safety checks in about 40% of the 253 in-custody deaths from 2020 through 2025. In one Men’s Central Jail dorm it rated 2% of checks as “quality.” The department said it had opened 31 investigations and disciplined 81 staff over safety checks since 2022 (Daily News).

Crime and staffing.

• The LA Times reported that serious crime in deputy-patrolled areas fell 12.5% in 2025, with murders down 12% and auto thefts down 20% (LA Times). His campaign says homicides are down 25% since 2023 (campaign).
• Department data from his campaign show 1,017 sworn hires from 2023 to 2025. That is 201 fewer than from 2020 to 2022 under Villanueva, but attrition was 204 lower under Luna (LA Times).

Other. In 2025 three people were killed in an explosion at the department’s Biscailuz Center training academy (LA Times).

Ethics and court records. No official findings. No FPPC case, FEC matter or City Ethics order names him (FPPC case search; FEC legal search; City Ethics enforcement orders). He is not a State Bar licensee; the one Robert Luna listed was admitted in 2025 and is based in Fresno (State Bar search). Searched Sept. 30, 2026.

Alex Villanueva

Before Sheriff. Villanueva was a deputy for more than 30 years and a lieutenant when he won in 2018 (LAist).

Oversight.

• He banned Inspector General Max Huntsman from department facilities and databases (LA Times).
• He contested Commission subpoenas in court (LA Times). He testified under oath about deputy gangs in January 2024 (LA Times).

Deputy gangs. He adopted an anti-gang policy in 2020. At his January 2024 testimony he said he never ran a systematic investigation into deputy gangs and “never examined anyone’s tattoo” (LA Times). He says he fired 165 employees for misconduct as sheriff (Daily News questionnaire).

Public Corruption Unit. He says he created the Public Corruption Unit to look at local government (campaign bio).

Immigration and COVID rules. He removed federal immigration agents from the jails in his first term (LA Times). He refused to enforce the County’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for his employees (Courthouse News).

Staffing and budget (his figures). His campaign says he hired 1,100 deputies in his first year and turned a $101 million deficit into a $74 million surplus (campaign bio). He says Part 1 crime fell 6% in 2019 from 2018 (Daily News questionnaire).

Ethics fine. In January 2024 the state Fair Political Practices Commission approved a stipulation in which Villanueva, his 2018 campaign committee and its treasurer agreed to pay $7,500 for two reporting violations: not reporting a donor’s occupation and employer, and not reporting the same information for a second contribution and not returning it. In the same case a donor agreed to pay $50,000 for making 14 contributions to the 2018 campaign in other people’s names. The stipulation says “there is no evidence that the Villanueva campaign knew about the laundering scheme” and calls the reporting failures negligence (FPPC stipulation, case 2018-01097). Villanueva said “we were victims as well” (LA Times).

Other searches. No FEC matter or City Ethics order names him, and he is not a State Bar licensee (FEC legal search; City Ethics enforcement orders; State Bar search). Searched Sept. 30, 2026.

Where they stand

Issues come from the topics the LA Times voter guide and the LAist voter guide said define the race (jails, recruitment, use of force, deputy gangs, oversight), plus homelessness and immigration from the Daily News candidate survey. No public debate between the two was found; the LA Times reported none before the primary (LA Times).

On the other ballot measures

The candidates’ positions on the state propositions were not found.

Endorsements

Robert Luna

From his 2026 endorsements page, checked Sept 29, 2026, unless another source is linked.

• Elected officials:
  • U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and Reps. Judy Chu, Robert Garcia and George Whitesides (campaign list).
  • State Treasurer Fiona Ma, six state senators and ten Assemblymembers (campaign list).
  • All five County Supervisors (Barger, Hahn, Horvath, Mitchell and Solis), District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Assessor Jeffrey Prang (campaign list).
  • LA Mayor Karen Bass, Councilmembers Imelda Padilla and Monica Rodriguez, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, and officials in dozens of other cities (campaign list).
• Party: Los Angeles County Democratic Party (LAist; Daily News). The race is nonpartisan.
• Law enforcement groups: Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS), which backed Villanueva in 2022 (LA Times); Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association; Los Angeles Police Protective League; Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association; Peace Officers Research Association of California; California Association of Highway Patrolmen; Long Beach POA; Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs (campaign list).
• Unions: Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; LA County Firefighters Local 1014; SEIU Locals 121 and 721; UNITE HERE Local 11; Western States Regional Council of Carpenters; LA/OC Building Trades Council; IBEW Local 11; Laborers Local 300; Teamsters Joint Council 42; UFCW Locals 324 and 770; ILWU locals (campaign list).
• Business groups: BizFed PAC, Central City Association, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, LA Area Chamber of Commerce’s LA Jobs PAC, Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce, Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce (campaign list).
• Organizations: Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project LA County Action Fund, Mexican American Bar Association, Armenian National Committee of America Western Region, and about 20 Democratic clubs (campaign list).
• Community leaders: Robert Bonner, former chair of the Civilian Oversight Commission (campaign list).
• Newspapers: Southern California News Group, which publishes the Daily News (editorial, May 13, 2026).

Alex Villanueva

From his endorsements page, checked Sept 29, 2026, unless another source is linked.

• Elected officials: Assemblymembers David Tangipa, Carl DeMaio and Leticia Castillo; Santa Clarita Mayor Bill Miranda; Rosemead Mayor Margaret Clark; Hawthorne Mayor Pro Tem Faye Johnson; council members in Baldwin Park, Bell Gardens, Cerritos, La Habra Heights, La Puente, Lancaster, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, Walnut and Whittier; and several school board members (campaign list).
• Party: Los Angeles County Republican Party (campaign list; LAist). The race is nonpartisan.
• Law enforcement groups: Los Angeles Sheriff’s Professional Association, one of two deputy unions (Daily News; campaign); Los Angeles School Police Officers Association; police officers associations in Alhambra, Arcadia, Claremont, Monterey Park, San Bernardino and Whittier (campaign list).
• Organizations: Los Angeles County Lincoln Clubs and Los Angeles County Taxpayers Association (campaign list).
• Newspapers: None found on his list.

Editorial boards: No LA Times endorsement for 2026 was found. The Southern California News Group endorsed Luna before the primary (Daily News editorial, May 13, 2026).

Polls

No public head-to-head poll was found for the primary or the general election. The LA Times reported before the primary that “no public polling was done” (LA Times).

One related measure: UCLA Luskin’s Quality of Life Index, a survey of about 1,400 County residents from March 15 to 29, 2026, found 48% had a favorable view of Luna, up from 37% in 2023. His unfavorable rating has stayed between 21% and 26%. It did not ask about Villanueva (LA Times).

Money

Source: each committee’s Form 460 reports on the County Registrar’s campaign finance portal (Luna for Sheriff 2026, FPPC ID 1479270; Villanueva for Sheriff 2026, FPPC ID 1482463). “Raised” adds calendar-year totals for 2025 and 2026 (line 5 of each summary page). Villanueva also reported $2,180.77 in miscellaneous increases to cash. After Sep 19 he reported one more late contribution of $1,500 on Sep 20 (Form 497).

Who is giving

Method: every itemized contribution (money and in-kind) on each committee’s 460s from Jan 1, 2025 to Sep 19, 2026, from the County’s NetFile transaction records. A donor is a normalized name plus ZIP code. Refunds are netted out. Gifts under $100 that the committee did not itemize ($1,298 for Luna, $15,883.37 for Villanueva) are left out of donor counts. The itemized totals match the committees’ reported itemized receipts less refunds (Luna filings; Villanueva filings).

Source: itemized contributions on each committee’s Form 460s, Luna for Sheriff 2026 and Villanueva for Sheriff 2026, County Registrar campaign finance portal.

The most common single gift to Luna was $1,500 (581 of his itemized contributions, Luna filings).

Geography. Method: LA County ZIP codes (900 to 918, plus Antelope Valley towns in 935) versus the rest of California and other states, by the address on file.

Source: donor addresses on the itemized contributions in each committee’s Form 460s (Luna; Villanueva).

Robert Luna

Two thirds of Luna’s itemized money (68.9%) came from donors who gave $1,500 or more. Donors under $250 gave less than 1% (Luna filings).

Industries (share of itemized dollars, by occupation and employer): business owners and executives 26.2%; retired or not employed 15.4%; law 12.6%; companies giving directly 7.6%; finance and accounting 6.2%; real estate and development 6.0% (78 donors, $79,845); health care 4.2%; construction and trades 1.8%; political and business committees 1.4%; unions and employee groups giving directly 1.2% ($16,500); law enforcement 0.5% (8 donors). 16.0% could not be classified. No itemized donor lists the Sheriff’s Department as employer (Luna filings).

Top employers by dollars: one law firm (16 donors, $31,500, including five on Aug 21, 2026 for $7,500); one real estate company (7 donors, $13,000); Pacific Retail Capital Partners (3, $7,500); a second law firm (6, $5,750); Greenbox Loans (4, $6,000); Green Jacket Staffing (3, $6,000); Telacu Industries (3, $4,500) (Luna filings).

Companies giving on one day: seven skilled nursing and post-acute care companies each gave $1,500 on May 12, 2026 ($10,500), including Mission Care Center, Country Oaks Care Center, College Vista Post-Acute and Pomona Vista Care Center (Luna filings).

Committees that gave directly include the Central City Association PAC, BizFed PAC, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce PAC, NAIOP SoCal PAC, the Lincoln Club of Orange County, New Majority PAC, and union PACs of the Laborers, UFCW Locals 324 and 770, ILWU Locals 13, 63 and 94, the LA County Building Trades, ATU Local 1277, SEIU 121RN and the California Association of Highway Patrolmen ($1,500 or less each). Rex Richardson for Mayor 2026 gave $1,500 (Luna filings).

Alex Villanueva

Nearly half of Villanueva’s donors (46.8%) gave under $250 in total, and they gave 10.2% of his itemized money. Donors of $1,500 or more gave 55.3% (Villanueva filings).

Industries: retired or not employed 37.3% (226 donors, $111,000); business owners and executives 18.5%; law enforcement 4.6% (28 donors, $13,536); companies giving directly 4.3%; finance 4.2%; law 3.7%; health care 3.3%; real estate 3.1%; construction 2.9%; political committees 2.6%; unions 0.5%. 14.7% could not be classified (Villanueva filings).

Seventeen donors list the Sheriff’s Department as employer (29 gifts, $10,656). By count, the Sheriff’s Department (13 donors under one spelling, $7,379) and the County of Los Angeles (8, $2,850) are his top employers (Villanueva filings).

Villanueva himself gave $3,000, as did the Los Angeles County Lincoln Clubs PAC. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Professional Association gave $1,500. Other committees that gave include the Pasadena Republican Club and council candidates Ken Mann and Marvin Crist (Villanueva filings).

Outside spending

No independent expenditure supporting or opposing Luna or Villanueva was found in the County’s campaign filings through Sep 28, 2026 (Form 496 reports and Schedule D of committee 460s; Luna filings, Villanueva filings). The deputies’ union ALADS runs two County committees, A Coalition for a Safer Los Angeles County and Community Safety Partnership. Their 2026 filings show payments to other races and causes, including $450,000 to the LA County Federation of Labor’s political committee on May 6 (Coalition Form 460; Community Safety Partnership Form 460), but no spending in the Sheriff race. ALADS’s larger spending this year is on County Measure A (Yes on A filings).

Behested payments

Nothing found (searched Sept 30, 2026): no behested payment report (Form 803) for Luna appears among the filings the County Registrar posts on its campaign filing portal, which lists Form 803 among the reports it posts (Registrar); every filing posted from January 2022 through Sept 30, 2026 was checked. Local officials file these reports with their own agency (FPPC), and the County’s Form 700 system for its officials has no public search (County eDisclosure), so a report filed only with the County would not show here.

Key moments

Debates and forums

No debate or forum with both Luna and Villanueva was found for the primary or the general election. Before the primary, the LA Times reported there were “no public debates that included the leading candidates” (LA Times).

Separate interviews since the primary:

Events

• Rematch announced (Aug-Sept 2025).

  • What happened: Villanueva entered the race against Luna (LA Times, Sept 26, 2025).

• Primary (June 2, 2026).

  • What happened: Luna finished first with 44.15% and Villanueva second with 21.70% (County Registrar).

• Supervisors’ deputy gang motion (Sept 15, 2026).

  • What happened: Supervisor Mitchell asked for a confidential list of deputy gangs and inspections for gang insignia. The Board voted 4-1 to first get a report on whether union talks are required (MyNewsLA; Daily News).
  • Luna’s response: “I recognize the serious issue deputy gangs pose to our department,” but the motion “overlooks the significant progress we have made” (Daily News; LASD statement).
  • Villanueva’s response: none found on the motion. He has said deputy gangs do not exist (Daily News, May 14, 2026).