Will L.A. County’s sheriff run for reelection in 2026? ‘Absolutely,’ Robert Luna says

Days after the general election that marked the midway point of his term as Los Angeles County sheriff, Robert Luna says he “absolutely” plans to run for office again in 2026.

Luna issued a short statement Sunday amid rumors that he planned to step down due to alleged medical issues.

“Not true,” he told The Times. “No health issues. I will absolutely be running for reelection.”

The little-known former Long Beach police chief came out of retirement to run for sheriff two years ago, positioning himself as the calm antidote to what he once described as the “dysfunction and chaos” of his predecessor, Alex Villanueva.

After winning more than 60% of the vote, Luna was sworn in as the county’s 34th sheriff in December 2022.

Since taking office, he’s grappled with many of the same problems that bedeviled prior sheriffs: poor jail conditions, sprawling consent decrees, allegations about deputy gangs and persistent staffing woes. But he’s also made good on promises to provide more even-keeled leadership and repair fractured relationships with other county leaders.

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In recent weeks, Luna became the target of widespread speculation from both outsiders and those within the department about the possibility that he might leave office prematurely.

On Sunday, Malibu community activist and blogger Cece Woods wrote in a post on the social platform X that rumors had been “heavily circulating” that Luna “could potentially step down as the head of the largest sheriff’s department in the country due to health concerns,” adding that “multiple sources say Parkinson’s disease.”

Jeff Millman, who served as an advisor to Luna’s 2022 campaign, pushed back online in response to Woods’ post, calling it “untrue” and confirming that the sheriff will run again.

“Full speed ahead,” he wrote.

Late Sunday afternoon, Luna told The Times the rumors were “not true.”

The union representing rank-and-file deputies — the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs — stepped in to speak in Luna’s defense, telling The Times that union leaders had been “peppered with these horrible rumors” for a week or more.

“Our approach was simple: We asked Sheriff Luna himself if he had Parkinson’s — he said he did not and was in great shape,” the union’s executive director, Derek Hsieh, wrote in a statement. “It is disappointing that some would make up and circulate a rumor about him.”

The statement continued, “It’s surprising that some appear to be working to specifically undermine the sheriff at this critical time.”

Typically, county sheriffs in California hold four-year terms. But in 2022, the Legislature approved a little-known measure aimed at increasing voter turnout for countywide elections by holding all of the state’s sheriff and district attorney races in presidential election years. As a result, the law said those officials elected in 2022 would remain in office until 2028 — with a few exceptions.

Any counties that already expressly specified in the county charter when sheriff and district attorney elections should occur as of the start of 2021 did not have to follow the new election schedule. According to the Sheriff’s Department, that means Los Angeles is exempt from the provisions of the bill.