Swalwell drops gubernatorial bid amid sexual misconduct allegations

Eric Swalwell came so close to becoming governor of California that he almost measured the curtains.

And then everything suddenly came crashing down because of his terrible behavior.

Swalwell suspended his campaign last night after desperately trying to hang on. He was wrong if he thought he could keep running. Finally he faced the inevitable music.

The Democratic congressman didn’t have much choice. His own party, led by Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Adam Schiff and Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, was demanding he drop out of the race.

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He was denying most of the details about sexually harassing women on his team, but his candidacy was clearly botched. The campaign chairman immediately resigned. The state teachers union withdrew its support. The service workers union suspended its campaign activities.

In a video posted Friday night, Swalwell appeared to soften his denials:

“I’m not telling you that I’m perfect or a saint by any means. I’ve certainly made errors of judgment in my past, but those errors are between me and my wife, and I’m deeply sorry to her for putting her in that situation.”

Nobody’s buying this. When you’re a well-known person with three children, this isn’t just between you and your spouse. This is also between you and the voters.

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Knowing the intense scrutiny a gubernatorial candidate faces, why would Swalwell allegedly have sex with staffers, given the stark power imbalance between a member of Congress and star-struck young women?

When Swalwell says this is all coming out to undermine his primary campaign – “these allegations are false” – he’s probably right. But he put the target on his own back.

In fact, a group wagon rolling on four flat tires might be the least of the candidate’s problems. The Manhattan district attorney’s office confirmed it had opened an investigation into some of the allegations and publicly urged “survivors and anyone with information about these allegations” to contact the special victims unit.

Moreover, both House of Representatives and Swalwell’s campaign staff provided an unsigned letter to news organizations saying they were “appalled” by the allegations, calling them “disgusting, unbecoming of the dignity of those who serve in public office” and “betraying the trust of all Californians.” And a Republican representative, Anna Paulina Luna, is pushing for the House of Representatives to expel her.

The media is clearly manipulating the narrative about the congressman representing the San Francisco district. One of the other two major Democratic candidates — former congresswoman Katie Porter or billionaire Tom Steyer — will take over the front-row seat.

The top two names in California’s “jungle primaries” participate in the fall voting, regardless of party. President Trump has already endorsed former British politician and Fox News host Steve Hilton. But in the bluest of blue states, the Democratic candidate is almost guaranteed to win.

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President Donald Trump has endorsed Republican political commentator Steve Hilton for governor of the Golden State. (Getty Images)

San Francisco Chronicle He conducted a series of interviews with a woman who said Swalwell assaulted her twice while she was too drunk to consent; one of which was when he was her boss.

The woman did not report the alleged assaults because she did not think she would be believed, according to the Chronicle, which viewed texts she sent to a friend at the time and medical records showing she wanted a pregnancy and took an STD test days after the alleged attack in 2024.

CNN also reported on this woman, along with three other women who accused Swalwell of various sexual assaults. The woman was shown in shadow to protect her identity and said she felt comfortable meeting Swalwell after a drunken encounter in 2019 because she now had a partner and felt more confident:

“After that bar closed, we went to another bar, I went to the toilet and I don’t remember anything after that… I remember the next day, that evening, I could see him on top of me, me pushing him, him grabbing me. He was much more aggressive. He was aggressive.”

“Did you say no?” asked host Pamela Brown.

“Yes. I said no. I said – as far as I can remember, I was pushing him away by saying no.”

What did he do?

“He didn’t stop.”

The unidentified woman said she woke up naked in a hotel room with him after a night of heavy drinking in 2019, when she was still working for Swalwell. He said he didn’t remember anything about what happened, but he could physically feel them having sexual contact.

CNN reported that three other women said Swalwell sent them unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos.

New York Times Interviewed by Ally Sammarco, the social media phenomenon mentioned in the CNN news, she said that the Congresswoman sent her inappropriate messages via Snapchat in 2021. Snapchat content is programmed to disappear after a short time.

Sammarco, now 28, told the newspaper that Swalwell told him he was attractive and asked about alcohol.

“A lot of it was photos of him going on trips, planes, hotels, lying in bed, and then things like, ‘What would you do if I were with you,’ or ‘I wish you were here,'” Sammarco told the paper. Sammarco added that he also sent an unsolicited photo of his penis.

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“This made me feel disgusting and uncomfortable. I didn’t ask for this,” Sammarco is quoted as saying. She says that when she posted birth photos of her third baby, he sent her this message: “When will I see you?”

Sammarco said he stopped responding when he realized the congressman wouldn’t help him find a job.

Politico by the wayA former Swalwell employee reportedly signed an agreement requiring confidentiality and non-disparagement when leaving his office. This was not about sexual harassment, but workplace discrimination. A spokesman denied that the office used any confidentiality agreements.

A Swalwell attorney sent letters to the two women cited by CNN, demanding they retract their statements or face possible legal action.

Those letters stated that the women’s allegations, including that the former employee asked her for a job reference, were “weakened” by their “voluntary and cooperative relationship with Mr. Swalwell over many years.”

I think these letters are no longer valid. Do you think?

Eric Swalwell categorically denied the allegations. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

If the allegations were made by a single woman, it would be easier for the candidate to be removed from office. It’s not as if sexual accusations haven’t been made against Trump and term-limited governor and 2028 contender Gavin Newsom, who has acknowledged as much.

Even Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego, a close friend of Swalwell, withdrew his support, calling the behavior “indefensible.”

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Eric Swalwell showed no sensitivity to intimidation of young female employees. According to their claims, the general picture is the same.

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It’s no surprise that his party wants Swalwell to be kicked out of the race immediately. Instead of going to Sacramento, he destroyed his political career.