Don Barnes (sheriff)

Don Barnes (born 1965) is the Sheriff-Coroner of Orange County, California. He was elected to the position on November 5, 2018, and sworn in on January 7, 2019, replacing Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, who had endorsed Barnes shortly after she announced that she would not seek re-election.

Career
Barnes was sworn in as a Deputy Sheriff in 1989. Barnes rose through the ranks of the department. In 2016, he was sworn in as Undersheriff. In 2018, then-Sheriff Sandra Hutchens announced that she would not seek re-election to a third term. She endorsed Barnes for the position. Barnes defeated Duke Nguyen in the 2018 general election. Barnes was sworn in as the 15th Sheriff-Coroner on January 9, 2019. He was unopposed for re-election in 2022.

In June 2021, Barnes became the Chairman of the Intelligence Commanders Committee of the Major County Sheriffs of America, the national association of sheriffs from largest counties in the United States. In this capacity, he testified in May 2023 before the U.S. House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence and the U.S. House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology regarding the security challenges facing the United States.

In February 2024, Barnes became Vice President of Homeland Security of the Major County Sheriffs of America.