Rep. Eric Swalwell has suspended his campaign for governor of California in the wake of multiple sexual misconduct allegations, including sexual assault. The accusations prompted a mass exodus of campaign staff and endorsements. Democrats in Congress, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Adam Schiff, and other key Democrats called on him to end his campaign.
“I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” Swalwell wrote I na post on X. “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.”
He added, “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”
I am suspending my campaign for Governor.
To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.
I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.
— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) April 13, 2026
A former staffer says Swalwell had sex with her twice while she was too drunk to consent. Another woman says he cultivated her political ambitions online, then got her intoxicated during a 2025 visit and kissed and groped her without consent, after which she woke up in his hotel room with only blurred memories. Social media creator Ally Sammarco says he sent unsolicited nude photos to her while suggesting he could help her career. Another woman says that after contacting her on social media, Swalwell repeatedly requested explicit photos and sent unsolicited nude videos over several years. CNN investigated the claims and corroborated many details.
Politico has more on this development:
The Democratic congressman’s exit completed a stunningly swift collapse for a candidate who had shown signs in recent weeks of pulling ahead of a crowded Democratic field, with prominent interest groups and elected officials beginning to coalesce behind him.
But an ex-staffer’s allegation that Swalwell had sexually assaulted her, detailed in a San Francisco Chronicle report and followed by more misconduct allegations in a CNN report, led those allies to abandon Swalwell en masse as high-level staffers departed his campaign.
Swalwell started last week vehemently denying accusations against him as nakedly political attacks on the race’s frontrunner. He ended it politically isolated, his top campaign surrogates and prominent endorsers withdrawing their support or urging him to exit the race.
By Friday afternoon, Swalwell’s two campaign co-chairs, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, called on Swalwell to drop out, as did Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement saying the accusations “must be appropriately investigated with full transparency and accountability,” and that, “As I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, it is clear that is best done outside of a gubernatorial campaign.”
Suspending his campaign likely won’t be the end of this saga. The allegations against him are currently under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and there have been growing calls for Swalwell to resign from Congress or face expulsion.
ICYMI: Did Eric Swalwell Accidentally Prove He’s Guilty of Sexual Assault?
Swalwell still faces calls to resign from Congress, mostly from Republicans, but according to recent reports, a growing number of Democrats are expressing openness to expelling Swalwell from the House.
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