Swalwell Quits Governor Race Amid Assault Claims
Rep. Eric Swalwell announced Sunday he is suspending his campaign for California governor. The move follows a series of allegations that have drawn new reporting and a Manhattan grand jury inquiry.
Swalwell issued a statement apologizing to family, staff and supporters. He also vowed to fight what he called false allegations.
Statement from Swalwell:
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.
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
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
The San Francisco Chronicle published the first report describing a woman who says Swalwell sexually assaulted her twice — once in 2019 while she worked in his office, and again in 2024 after she was no longer employed there. The woman told the paper she was hired at 21 in 2019 and that Swalwell began pursuing her soon after.
She later spoke with CNN and recounted the alleged 2024 incident in graphic detail. “I went to the bathroom, and I don’t remember anything after that,” she said, adding that she “remembered the next day.”
“I can see flashes of that evening of him on top of me, me pushing him off, him grabbing me. It was a lot more aggressive. It was aggressive,” she said. “He didn’t stop. He didn’t stop. I woke up the next morning naked, alone in his hotel. I, for a moment, didn’t even know that I was in his hotel room. That’s how intoxicated I was.”
CNN reported it corroborated parts of the woman’s account by speaking with friends and family she told, and by reviewing photos and contemporaneous messages. The outlet said it reviewed a message from her medical provider the week after she got tests, describing her as a “survivor.”
After the Chronicle’s story, three other women came forward with accounts of additional alleged misconduct to CNN. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has opened an investigation into the allegations.
Pressure on Swalwell grew quickly. More than 50 former staffers called for his resignation from Congress on Sunday.
Swalwell’s campaign will now pause while he deals with the legal and personal fallout. He repeats that he will fight the allegations. The allegations are serious and under investigation. No charges have been announced publicly at this time.