Swawell joins a crowded field for governor of California

from Maya S. MillerCalMatters

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Congressman Eric Swalwell, a former Democratic presidential candidate who helped impeach President Donald Trump for the second time, has officially entered the race to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom in next year’s gubernatorial race.

His main message? “Prices are too high and people are scared.”

Swawell, 45, a prominent Trump opponent on social media and a cable news favorite who briefly ran for the White House in 2019, made the announcement Thursday night at the end of nearly 10-minute interview with late night host Jimmy Kimmel.

After joking that California was the “greatest country in the world” to laughs from the Los Angeles studio audience, Swawell turned serious and decried how Californians have been disproportionately targeted by a second Trump administration, whether through retaliatory immigration crackdowns or the rollback of critical cancer and health research.

“This great country needs a fighter and a defender,” Swawell said.

In a video posted on his campaign websitewhich went live shortly before his appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” aired, Swawell says that “no one is going to keep California safer” than him. He mentions Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi — the titan of Democratic politics in San Francisco who recently announced her own retirement — and points to her decisions to appoint him to the House Intelligence Committee and as one of four leaders to impeach Trump after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Swalwell’s announcement comes a day after a billionaire liberal activist Tom Steyer has announced his candidacy to replace Newsom when his term expires in 2027. At least six other top Democrats are also running, including former Congresswoman Katie Porter, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Notable Republican contenders include Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News contributor Steve Hilton.

The challenge for the seven-term congressman, who recently said he was among Trump’s last political enemies referred for investigation from the Justice Department, will prove he can govern for Californians at home in addition to sparring with Republicans on the national stage.

“We can say we’re the fourth largest economy in the world – and we are, and I like to brag about it – but what does that mean if you can’t afford to live here?” Swawell told Kimmel on Thursday.

On that front, Swalwell offered no specific policy promises at his initial launch, instead citing his experience as a planning commissioner and city councilman for his hometown of Dublin, the Bay Area suburb nestled east of Hayward and west of Livermore. He represents the same region in Congress.

“I served as a planning commissioner and city councilor in a place of low income and low expectations and helped my hometown become one of the most prosperous cities in California,” Swalwell’s campaign site says. “I’m going to take that approach statewide.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.