Eric Swwell suspends campaign for governor of California

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Congressman Eric Swwell suspended his campaign for governor of California on Sunday night, days after two media outlets published serious allegations of assault and sexual misconduct by four women, including a former staffer. In a statement on social media, Swawell continued to deny the allegations.

Swalwell’s campaign collapsed on Friday shortly after the first report was published in the san francisco chronicle in which an anonymous former employee alleged that Swawell asked her for oral sex while she was working for him and sexually assaulted her on two occasions when she was too drunk to consent. The story was corroborated with medical records and with testimony from people the woman spoke to after the last incident, which she said happened in New York in 2024.

Later on Friday CNN released the same woman’s testimony, along with those of three other women, one of whom said he kissed and touched her inappropriately, and two of whom said he sent them unsolicited nude photos and other inappropriate messages via Snapchat.

Dozens of his supporters and team members quickly left your support. Major unions and congressional candidates withdrew their support from him.

In your post Swawell apologized to his “family, staff, friends and supporters,” saying, “I deeply regret the errors of judgment I have made in the past. I will defend my case against the serious and false allegations that have been made, but this is my fight, not a campaign.”

Because he dropped out of the race after the state’s deadline to file or withdraw, his name will continue to appear on the June 2 primary ballot.

Swalwell, one of the main ones Democratic candidates for governor appeared to remain firm on his position Friday night. His lawyer, Elias Dabaye, gave an interview to CNN saying that he is still in the running. Swawell himself spoke only in a video he posted on Instagram, calling the allegations “absolutely false.”

But by then he had already lost followers throughout the Democratic establishment. The main unions suspended their support on Friday and held emergency meetings over the weekend to withdraw their support. Democratic leaders in Congress asked him to retire, members of his staff resigned or distanced themselves from him, and the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced it would investigate the alleged assault, which took place in 2024.

Swawell also faces mounting pressure from his colleagues to leave Congress, where he has represented parts of the east San Francisco Bay Area since 2013.

In a phone call Sunday morning, Yardena Wolf, Swawell’s campaign manager and former congressional chief of staff, said neither she nor other staff members had spoken to the congressman. He added that he remained on Swalwell’s payroll to sign his subordinates’ paychecks.

Wolff was with Swawell at a public event in Sacramento last week, where he vehemently denied to reporters the allegations of inappropriate behavior and said he never had sexual contact with any staff member.

Swawell has based his campaign largely on his antagonism to President Donald Trump, telling voters that fighting Trump is the California governor’s “number one job.”

In a field of seven Democratic primary candidates, he enjoyed greater recognition among liberal voters than many other candidates, thanks to his frequent appearances on cable television and his role as chairman of Trump’s second impeachment trial in 2021. He quickly rose to the top of the Democratic polls and won higher support rate state Democratic Party delegates at a convention in February.

He has also been the center of controversy, including questions about his residency in California and questions about who invested in his artificial intelligence company for campaign finance, which is being used by some of his Democratic colleagues in Congress.

For most of the past two weeks, he was tied with two other Democrats in the race, along with Katie Porter and Tom Steyer, who in turn trailed of the two Republican candidates Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, sparking concerns among Democrats that the two Republicans could take the top two spots in the June 2 primary, advance to November and leave Democrats without a seat.

Swawell’s withdrawal could allow another Democrat to take the lead if a majority of his supporters choose the same candidate.