Accusations of rape and other misconduct against Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) has thrown California’s already chaotic California gubernatorial race into unknown territory, with influential politicians calling on Swalwell to drop out ASAP.
Four women, including an ex-staffer for the Bay Area representative who says Swalwell raped her two years ago, have alleged attacks and unwelcomed explicit communications, according to reports Friday by CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle.
The former staffer has said she previously had nonconsensual sex with Swalwell in 2019 after a night of drinking. That first encounter was when the woman was on the congressman’s team. The alleged 2024 rape was when the woman, who stopped working for Swalwell in 2021, was no longer in his employ.
The claims, which allegedly occurred over a number of years and up to quite recently, has seen some other contenders to replace Gavin Newson, as well as California’s senators and Swalwell’s political mentor, call on the cable news regular to drop out.
“To the survivor who risked everything to come forward – I believe you,” San Jose mayor and fellow Democratic candidate Matt Mahan said Friday amid the claims. “To the Democratic Party – you’d better hold him accountable. If we don’t, we have no credibility asking anyone else to do the same.”
“As we continue to learn more, these allegations from multiple sources are deeply troubling and must be taken seriously,” Newsom said of Swalwell and the revelations.
Swalwell put out a statement denying the claims: “These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor. For nearly 20 years, I have served the public — as a prosecutor and a congressman – – and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies.”
Perhaps more importantly personally and poltically to Swalwell, ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff have called on the longtime Congressman to end his campaign.
“I have read the San Francisco Chronicle’s account and I am deeply distressed by its allegations,” Schiff said today of the rape claimed by the former Swalwell staffer. “This woman was brave to come forward, and we should take her story seriously. I am withdrawing my endorsement immediately, and believe that he should withdraw from the race.”
In his own remarks on the matter, Padilla said Friday: “These allegations are deeply serious and warrant a full investigation. Survivors deserve to be heard and treated with dignity and respect. Given the gravity of these claims, Rep. Eric Swalwell should step aside to ensure a full, transparent investigation free from undue influence.”
Losing the still powerful and influential Pelosi, as well as the senators, will certainly hit Swalwell hard with his base as well as donors. “Maybe he could survive this, but I don’t see how,” a prominent Hollywood producer who has written big checks to Dems over the years told Deadline today as the allegations came out. “There were a lot of stories around Eric before, this kills his campaign. He’s toast.”
Already, Swalwell’s own campaign chair has resigned and said the candidate must drop out.
“Today I learned shocking information about Eric Swalwell containing the ugliest and most serious accusations imaginable,” Rep. Jimmy Gomez said today. “My involvement in any campaign begins and ends with trust. I cannot in good conscience remain in any role with this campaign, and I am stepping down from it effective immediately. The congressman should leave the race now so there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction, or delay.”
In another big blow to the candidate’s bottom line and get-out-the-vote efforts, the California Teachers Association has withdrawn their support.
A constant foil to Donald Trump, Swalwell, who has been hit hard by rivals over his noticeable absences from House votes over the years since he first arrived on Capital Hill in 2013, got into the California governor’s race in November.
Following in the tradition of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Swalwell went late-night to make his bid official and announced on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Some polls have had him in the lead, with the support of around 15% of likely voters going into the June 2 primary. Due in no small part to the swath of Dems like Mahan, ex-Rep Katie Porter, ex-L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire and one-time POTUS candidate Tom Steyer, other polls have had Republicans Steve Hilton, who Trump has endorsed, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco in the top spots.
The accusations against Swalwell would usually be covered wall-to-wall on cable news, but the successful splashdown of NASA’s Artemis II dominated CNN, MS Now, Fox News and the BBC this evening.
Still, while Swalwell’s fate wasn’t making the headlines today, the head of California’s Democrats weighed in on the situation. Rusty Hicks didn’t directly call on Swalwell to drop out of the race to rule over the world’s fourth-largest economy from Sacramento, but he also didn’t encourage Swalwell to stay.
Maybe, as we wait and see if the ex-VP is going to run for POTUS in 2028, some top Democrat should give Kamala Harris a call and get her to reconsider her 2025 decision to not run for California’s top job.
