Eric Swalwell drops California governor bid and quits Congress amid scandal
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Rep. Eric Swalwell’s political collapse amid scandal was sudden.
Amid mounting allegations of sexual assault and harassment, the Democratic representative who was one of the leading candidates in California’s 2026 gubernatorial campaign withdrew from the race on Sunday. He resigned from Congress two days later.
The congressman’s surprisingly swift demise comes seven years after Swalwell, then 38, made a short-lived and wildly unsuccessful bid for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination.
OUT THE DOOR: SWALWELL TO BE REMOVED AFTER 13 YEARS IN CONGRESS
Then Representative. Eric Swalwell of California speaks in Exeter, New Hampshire, on January 31, 2019, before launching a short-lived campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
“We’re getting close. I have staff in Iowa. We’re hiring right now in New Hampshire, South Carolina. I’m starting to build the infrastructure that you need. But so far I’m seeing nothing but green lights on this journey,” an optimistic Swalwell said in a January 2019 interview on Fox News Digital.
The soon-to-be candidate was in New Hampshire, courting supporters and activists in the state, which is holding the nation’s first presidential primary in a century.
SWALWELL’S ACCUSEERS EXPLAIN WHY THEY CAME FORWARD
California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell waves before speaking at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Swalwell officially launched his campaign on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on April 8, 2019.
SWALWELL WAS NOT THE ONLY CONGRESS MEMBER TO RESIGN OVER SCANDAL ON TUESDAY
The campaign slogan was: “Be Big. Be Bold. Do Good.” And Swalwell has made gun control and student debt reform key components of his presidential platform.
Swalwell was one of 20 Democratic presidential candidates who qualified and participated in the first round of debates over two nights in June 2019.
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However, failing to receive more than 1% of the vote and facing the possibility of not appearing in the Democrats’ second presidential debate, Swalwell suspended his campaign on July 8, 2019, just three months after announcing his candidacy.
