Swalwell Ends Governor Bid Amid Sexual Assault Report (1)

US Representative Eric Swalwell suspended his bid for governor of California after a series of sexual assault allegations threw his campaign into turmoil and prompted backers to flee.

“I am suspending my campaign for governor,” Swalwell said in a post on social media on Sunday evening. He apologized to his supporters, adding “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

Swalwell’s exit upends a competitive and crowded race to lead the most populous US state. The 45-year-old, seven-term congressman from the San Francisco Bay area, had been polling among the top Democrats to succeed Gavin Newsom, who is barred from seeking re-election because of term limits.

Among the candidates now jockeying for advantage are billionaire activist Tom Steyer, US Representative Katie Porter and former US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Representative Eric Swalwell

Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg

His campaign started to unravel shortly after the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Friday that a former Swalwell aide told the newspaper he twice sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent. CNN also reported that four women described sexual misconduct by Swalwell.

The allegations prompted a swift reaction, with top Democrats and financial backers quickly turning on him.

Manhattan prosecutors opened a criminal investigation and more than 50 staff members and former staff members called on him to resign. Fellow members of Congress said they would introduce motions to discipline him.

Senior Democrats, including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Adam Schiff, called on him to drop out. Representative Ro Khanna asked for law enforcement and House ethics investigations. The political action committee supporting Swalwell’s campaign, Californians for a Fighter, suspended its activities and the California Labor Federation — a group representing more than two million workers — withdrew its support.

In his statement on Sunday, Swalwell didn’t address calls for him to resign from Congress. Lawmakers are set to return to Washington from recess on Monday.

As recently as November, Swalwell had appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to announce his bid for governor. He had built a profile as one of President Donald Trump’s loudest critics, helping manage his second impeachment proceedings in 2021 and appearing regularly on TV and social media to campaign on that record. Swalwell also briefly mounted a White House run but dropped out in 2019 after failing to gain momentum.

Before running for office, Swalwell worked as deputy district attorney in Alameda County in the Bay Area, serving as the office’s lead hate crimes prosecutor. He was elected to a local city council in 2010 before winning his congressional seat in 2012.

Even before the recent allegations, the Democratic field was splintered. With eight candidates and no commanding frontrunner, Swalwell had pulled into second place in an average of recent polls, narrowly trailing Republican candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator, according to RealClear Polling. Under California election rules, the top two performers in a June primary advance to the November runoff, regardless of party affiliation.

“The allegations against Congressman Swalwell are horrifying,” Porter, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former US Representative said in a statement. “I’m thinking of the courageous women who have come forward to share their stories. We believe you and we stand with you.”

With early voting beginning just weeks away on May 4 before the June 2 primary, it remains unclear which candidate will gain the backing of the Democratic establishment.

“Unfortunately, the statutory deadline has passed to remove Swalwell’s name from the ballot,” said Rusty Hicks, chairman of the California Democratic Party, in a statement after Swalwell suspended his campaign, calling on people to make sure “he receives as little support as possible at the ballot box”

Hicks also reiterated his calls for candidates to drop out if they have no viable chance to win.

“In fact, that call is more important now than ever before,” he said.

Steyer and Porter are most likely to gain from Swalwell’s exit, according to an election simulator by Paul Mitchell, a campaign data analyst who works for Democrats. It also reduces the likelihood of an all-Republican November runoff, he said.

“The tool suggests we flip from being a small possibility of a R versus R to now a 13% chance of D versus D when Swalwell is out of the race,” Mitchell said.

(Adds details on competitors in fourth paragraph. An earlier version corrects spelling of San Francisco in third paragraph.)

--With assistance from Laura Davison.

To contact the reporters on this story:
John Gittelsohn in Los Angeles at johngitt@bloomberg.net;
Eliyahu Kamisher in San Francisco at ekamisher@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sarah McGregor at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net

Felipe Marques, Wendy Benjaminson

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