Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell suspended his campaign for California governor and later said he planned to resign from Congress, shaking up a closely watched, crowded field with no clear leader as the June 2 primary approaches. His withdrawal, coming only days after allegations surfaced publicly, left rivals scrambling to lock down the voters who had backed him and to recalibrate their campaigns for a race that is still spreading out across more than 50 candidates.
The Associated Press reported that Swalwell’s decision to suspend his campaign Sunday followed allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman twice, including when she worked for him, with the allegations published by the San Francisco Chronicle and later by CNN. While withdrawing from the governor bid, Swalwell remained defiant in a post on X, saying, “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”
On Monday, Swalwell posted a statement on X saying he planned to resign from Congress, but he did not specify when he would leave. He wrote that it was unfair for his constituents to have him distracted from his duties, according to the AP report.
For other candidates, the immediate question was where Swalwell’s supporters would go next. Swalwell had been one of the most prominent Democrats in the contest, and mail ballots were scheduled to go to voters in early May ahead of the June 2 primary. The AP said most of the well-known candidates were expected to appear Tuesday on stage together during a forum in Sacramento.
Among the early shifts, Katie Porter posted on X a line from a San Francisco Chronicle column that urged Democrats to “coalesc[e] around Porter” to compete in the race. Tom Steyer, meanwhile—identified by AP as a billionaire hedge fund manager turned liberal activist—said he secured the support of several lawmakers, including Rep. Jared Huffman. Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles mayor, pitched a new ad promising to lower gas and grocery costs in a state known for high living costs.
In Sacramento, state lawmakers also publicly switched their support. Democratic Assemblymember Nick Schultz told reporters that he expected Steyer to build relationships with the legislature, pointing to Steyer’s business background and saying he had never held public office. Democratic Assemblymember Corey Jackson, who also shifted to Steyer, said he wanted to back a candidate with a legitimate chance of winning and said in a statement that Jackson and Steyer shared a “commitment to building an economy rooted in dignity for working people.”
Republicans in the field also sought to clarify their contrasts as the campaign churned. The AP reported that San Jose’s Democratic Mayor Matt Mahan, running for governor in his first statewide election, tried to distinguish his record from Steyer and from Republican Steve Hilton, who hosted a show on Fox News for six years and has Trump’s endorsement. Mahan criticized both candidates in remarks on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” saying, “California deserves so much better.”
Campaign strategists described the broader dynamics as still unsettled for voters. Andrew Acosta, a Democratic consultant who is not involved in the campaign, said Swalwell’s departure would cause his supporters to “scatter out to other candidates” and told the AP, “Nobody has really caught fire.” Acosta added that, after the sexual misconduct allegations became public, he thought more people knew who Swalwell was than could clearly explain a Tom Steyer policy position.
The AP report also described how the allegations and related fallout reshaped attention to the race. Swalwell, the AP noted, is perhaps best known nationally as a House manager in President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial in early 2021, but in California, much of the governor contest remained distant for some voters in a media environment dominated by Trump. The report said Republican activists have not rallied around Hilton despite Trump’s support, and at a California Republican Party convention over the weekend, the party declined to endorse a candidate.
Swalwell’s pullout came amid pressure for him to step aside from Congress as well. The AP reported that some House colleagues had said they would support expelling him from the House if he did not step aside, and that the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation Monday. It also said Swalwell lost the support of powerful labor unions that had backed his candidacy, along with one-time allies including California U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Jimmy Gomez.
The AP further reported details of how the allegations were presented by the Chronicle and CNN. The San Francisco Chronicle spoke to a woman who alleged Swalwell sexually assaulted her in 2019 and again in 2024, with the woman saying she did not go to police at the time because she feared she would not be believed and that she was too intoxicated to consent to sex in both cases. CNN reported allegations it said appeared to come from the same woman and spoke to other women who accused Swalwell of other misconduct. The outlets did not name the woman, and the AP said it could not independently verify the account and identity; the woman’s lawyer declined to comment. The AP said the alleged 2024 incident occurred in New York, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it is investigating, while the Alameda County District Attorney’s office said it had received no outreach from anyone with allegations against Swalwell.
Even with Swalwell out of the race, AP reported that his name cannot be removed from the ballot. The campaign remains fluid, and the top-two primary structure means only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party—an arrangement that Democrats have worried could leave them shut out if too many candidates draw support in June.