Bradley Lorison Gates (March 27, 1939 – October 25, 2024) was an American law enforcement official who served as the 11th Sheriff-Coroner of Orange County, California, from 1975 until 1999.

With the pending retirement of longtime Sheriff-Coroner Jim Musick, Gates assembled a campaign for the position in 1974.

His campaign received endorsements from Musick and actor John Wayne, a resident of Orange County at the time.

[6] By 1997, Gates had lost support from several prominent Republicans due to his proposal that taxes be raised in order to alleviate the 1994 Orange County bankruptcy.

Republican state senators Rob Hurtt and John Lewis were among several who switched their allegiances to Mike Carona, a police marshal who announced in March 1997 that he would run against Gates.