Eric Swalwell suspended his bid for California governor amid sexual assault and misconduct allegations that threw his campaign into a tailspin, upending the race to lead the nation’s most populous state.
“I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” Swalwell wrote on X on Sunday. “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.”
He wrote, “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”
The Democratic congressman’s exit completed a stunningly swift collapse for a candidate who had shown signs in recent weeks of pulling ahead of a crowded Democratic field, with prominent interest groups and elected officials beginning to coalesce behind him.
But an ex-staffer’s allegation that Swalwell had sexually assaulted her, detailed in a San Francisco Chronicle report and followed by more misconduct allegations in a CNN report, led those allies to abandon Swalwell en masse as high-level staffers departed his campaign.
Swalwell started last week vehemently denying accusations against him as nakedly political attacks on the race’s frontrunner. He ended it politically isolated, his top campaign surrogates and prominent endorsers withdrawing their support or urging him to exit the race.
By Friday afternoon, Swalwell’s two campaign co-chairs, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, called on Swalwell to drop out, as did Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement saying the accusations “must be appropriately investigated with full transparency and accountability,” and that, “As I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, it is clear that is best done outside of a gubernatorial campaign.”
Swalwell had come under enormous pressure not only in the governor’s race, but in the House, too, where he now is facing calls for his expulsion. Meanwhile, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is investigating allegations that he sexually assaulted a former staffer in a New York City hotel room in April 2024.
In a video on Friday night, Swalwell had vowed to fight the allegations he said are false, while saying he would spend time with family and friends over the weekend.
Swalwell had entered the contest relatively late, after both former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Alex Padilla passed, drawing support from congressional colleagues while capitalizing on his reputation as a lead antagonist of President Donald Trump. In the weeks before he exited, powerful allies moved millions of dollars into pro-Swalwell committees.
His exit bookended a week of significant movement in California’s most unpredictable governor’s race in memory. On Monday, President Donald Trump endorsed Republican Steve Hilton, increasing the likelihood that Republicans voters coalesce behind Hilton in the state’s top-two primary. In a delegate vote Sunday, however, California Republican Party activists did not follow Trump’s lead, instead endorsing no candidate.
Previously, Democrats had feared that the large number of Democratic candidates in the race might split the vote, allowing two Republicans — if they performed about evenly — to both advance, locking Democrats out.
With Swalwell’s departure, the contest enters an even more uncertain phase. Polls have consistently placed Swalwell in the top tier of Democrats, along with former Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire Tom Steyer, although none have established themselves as a commanding frontrunner. Steyer and Porter called on Swalwell on Friday to both suspend his campaign and to forfeit his seat in Congress, arguing he was no longer fit to serve.
State Party chair Rusty Hicks alluded once again to the peril for Democrats on Friday in a statement calling the allegations and Swalwell “deeply disturbing” and saying “all — repeat, all — candidates for Governor” had to assess if they had a viable path to victory, insinuating Swalwell no longer did.
“In fact, that call is more important now than ever before,” Hicks said.
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