Race for California governor continues to heat up, with Trump critic Rep. Eric Swalwell jumping in

San Francisco Bay Area Democrat Eric Swalwell, a frequent target and frustrating obstacle for President Trump and Republicans, announced his candidacy for governor of California on Thursday.

The congresswoman announced her bid during an appearance on ABC’s late-night show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, adding a bit of Hollywood flair to the somewhat sleepy race as the crowd packed with candidates looking to light a fire in the 2026 election.

Voter interest in the race remains relatively moribund, especially after California’s two most prominent Democrats — former Vice President Kamala Harris and current U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla — opted to skip the race after months of speculation. About 44% of registered voters said in late October that they had not chosen their preferred candidate to lead California, the most populous state in the Union and the fourth-largest economy in the world.

But the lack of a blockbuster candidate in the race continues to encourage others to enter the race. Earlier this week, billionaire hedge fund founder Tom Steyer announced his bid and other prominent Democrats are exploring a possible run.

Swalwell, a 45-year-old former Republican and former prosecutor who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020, said his decision was motivated by the serious problems facing California and the threats Trump posed to the state and nation while in the White House.

“People are scared and prices are high, and I see the next governor of California having two jobs, one is to keep the worst president ever out of our homes, out of our streets, out of our lives,” Swalwell said in an interview with The Times. “The second job is to bring about what I call a new California, which is about housing and affordability, particularly and most poignantly, in a state where we have the highest unemployment rate in the country and the median age for a first-time homebuyer is 40, and so we need to bring that down.”

Governor Gavin Newsom cannot run for re-election due to term limits and is currently considering a 2028 presidential bid.

None of the candidates in the race, including Swalwell, have the statewide fame, success or fundraising prowess of California’s newest governors: Newsom, California political icon Jerry Brown and movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“If you look at the last three governors, they all have personalities,” Newsom’s former chief of staff, Jim DeBoo, said at a political conference at USC on Tuesday. “When you look at the field right now, most people don’t know much” about the candidates in the crowded race, despite their political beliefs.

Nearly a dozen prominent Democrats and Republicans will run for governor next year: former Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, state Supt. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; former Controller Betty Yee and conservative commentator Steve Hilton. And speculation continues to swirl about billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso and Atty. General Rob Bonta is likely to join the race.

On Thursday, Thurmond proposed taxes on the wealthy to fund education, healthcare, firefighting and construction. The proposal was seen in part as a sly dig at Steyer and Caruso; both had used their wealth to finance previous presidential runs.

“Opponents say California’s ultra-rich already pay enough, and taxing billionaires would stifle innovation and force companies to leave our state,” he said in an online video. “I’m not buying it.”

In an ad that begins airing Friday, Steyer portrayed his decision to leave the hedge fund he created in California as an example of his desire to give back to the state’s residents.

“It’s really simple. Get over the cost of living crises or get out of the way. Californians are the hardest-working people in the country. But the question is who benefits,” he says in the ad, which claims to be taking on oil and tobacco companies as well as companies that refuse to pay state taxes. “Let’s get into the nitty gritty: It’s very expensive to live here.”

Porter also went after Steyer; It’s another sign that the race is increasing in intensity as the June primaries quickly approach.

“A new billionaire on our race claims he will fight the industries he got rich by helping grow—fossil fuel companies, tobacco, and private immigrant detention facilities—at great cost to Californians,” he wrote on X on Wednesday.

The former congressman has come under recent attacks from his Democratic rivals in the governor’s race after videos emerged of him berating a reporter and swearing at an aide. Yee said he should drop out of the race, and Villaraigosa annoyed him in commercials.

Villaraigosa also attacked Becerra for his connection to the scandal that rocked Sacramento last week, which involved the transfer of money from one of Becerra’s campaign accounts to his former chief of staff while he served in the Biden administration.

“We don’t have a strong or solid opposition party in California, so you’d like to see a lot of that action on the dance floor in the primaries, among Democrats, of course, which will be interesting,” said Elizabeth Ashford, who worked for Schwarzenegger, Brown and Harris and is now advising House Speaker Robert Rivas. “Obviously there are very long-term relationships, long-term loyalties and interactions between these people. So what happens? It’s a big question mark.”

His ability to protect California from Trump’s policies and political vindictiveness and address the state’s affordability, housing and homelessness crisis will be crucial to Swalwell’s potential path to the governor’s mansion. Kimmel’s choice to announce his decision on his show was obvious; The host’s show was briefly suspended by Walt Disney-owned ABC under pressure from Trump after Kimmel commented on the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel thanked Swalwell for his support during this period, including the congressman handing out pro-Kimmel merchandise to his colleagues in Washington, D.C., before the two discussed the state’s future.

“I love California, it’s the greatest country in the world. The country,” Swalwell said. “But that’s why it pisses me off to see Californians working in the fields with ICE agents or the troops on our streets. It’s terrible. Cancer research is being canceled. It’s terrible to look at. And our state, this great state, needs a warrior and a protector, someone to keep prices down, raise wages.”

Californians have a history of announcing their campaigns on late-night television. Schwarzenegger launched his 2003 gubernatorial bid on “The Tonight Show,” hosted by Jay Leno; Swalwell announced his unsuccessful presidential bid on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Swalwell said he has traveled to nearly 40 countries as a member of the House Intelligence Committee and will seek to leverage the relationships he has established by creating an ambassador program to find global research money for California, given the Trump administration’s cuts to cancer research and other programs.

The congresswoman is perhaps best known for criticizing Trump on cable news shows. But it also faced numerous attacks.

In 2020, Swalwell came under scrutiny for his association with Chinese spy Fang Fang, who was raising money for his congressional campaign. He cut ties with it in 2015 after intelligence officials tipped him off to him and other members of Congress about China’s efforts to infiltrate the legislature. He was not accused of impropriety.

He is also being investigated by the Justice Department for mortgage fraud allegations, which he dismissed as punishment for his full-throated criticism of Trump.

Swalwell served on the City Council of the East Bay city of Dublin before being elected to Congress in 2012, defeating fellow Democrat Pete Stark.

An Iowa native, Swalwell grew up in Dublin, which he says was “a town of low-income prospects” that was then tarnished as “Scrublin’.” After graduating from law school, he served on the local planning commission that helped transform Dublin, he said. The town has increased housing, attracted Fortune 500 employers, exponentially increased the number of students attending college, and tapped developers to improve schools, resources for senior citizens, and police and fire services.

“We have Whole Foods that no one can afford to shop for,” he said.