Eric Swalwell ends bid for California governor amid sexual misconduct allegations

Apr. 12, 2026, 9:01 PM EDT

Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the Democratic primary for California governor on Sunday night after detailed accusations of sexual assault and misconduct doomed his once successful campaign — and led his closest allies and aides to demand he bow out.

“I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” Swalwell said in a statement posted on social media.“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.”

The damning allegations brought by a former aide against the congressman sparked a criminal investigation in New York City and threatened the one-time presidential candidate’s political future.

By Sunday, several Democratic lawmakers — including fellow members of the California congressional delegation — had called on Swalwell to not just end his campaign for governor, but resign from Congress.

“There must be accountability with both House Ethics and law enforcement about the sexual assault, and Eric Swalwell should resign,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Sunday.

Several Democrats suggested they would support an expulsion effort if Republicans would take down one of their own: Rep. Tony Gonzalez of Texas, who is under a House ethics investigation for alleged sexual misconduct with an aide who died by suicide.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, announced her effort to push an expulsion resolution against Swalwell, saying, “I am not going to serve with these sexual deviants, that is not what Congress is about.”

Swalwell vehemently denied the accusationsfirst reported by the San Francisco Chronicle Friday, and disregarded calls from prominent California Democrats, including his two campaign co-chairs, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, to drop out of the race.

“These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened,” Swalwell said in a video address posted to social media after the reports were made public. “And I will fight them with everything that I have.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose district spans much of San Francisco, called for Swalwell to relinquish the race while key backers withdrew their endorsements and his campaign effectively suspended its operations.

It was unclear which of the candidates in the crowded Democratic primary to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a term-limited Democrat who is seen as a 2028 presidential contender, would gain the backing of the Democratic establishment.

MS NOW spoke with the woman at the center of the allegations, a former Swalwell staff member, who confirmed that she made the sexual assault allegations first reported by the Chronicle and later by CNN, which citedthree other women alleging various kinds of sexual misconduct by Swalwell.

The main accuser, who has not been publicly identified and worked for Swalwell for nearly two years, said she had sexual encounters while he was her boss. She said he sexually assaulted her on two occasions when she was too intoxicated to consent, the Chronicle reported. The former aide confirmed to MS NOW that she made the sexual assault allegations.

Her former colleagues supported her and condemned Swalwell.

“We stand with our former colleague, and the other women who have come forward. We believe you should stand with them, too,” the California lawmaker’s gubernatorial and congressional staff wrote in a joint letter issued over the weekend. “The behavior detailed in these reports is abhorrent, beneath the dignity of those serving in public office and betrays the trust of all Californians.”

Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.