Sacramento – Before it all came crashing down, Eric Swalwell appeared to be on the verge of topping the Democratic field in the California governor’s race.
Swalwell had recently announced a statewide tour and aired his first commercial. The former prosecutor and Dublin city councilor appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” But started his campaign. In November, a comfortable setting for a politician who had built a national reputation by appearing on a cable news show to attack President Trump.
Influential forces in Sacramento had begun to rally behind the then-Bay Area congressman, including some of his advisors and advisers close to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom has not endorsed, but the involvement of his colleagues has given Swalwell credibility.
Swalwell’s campaign soon collapsed with explosive allegations that he had sexually harassed a former staffer and behaved inappropriately with other women who were just starting political careers. Swalwell denied the allegations but dropped out of the governor’s race and resigned his seat in the House.
The controversy over Swalwell’s rapid rise and fall has left Democratic leaders facing questions about whether they had any knowledge of his alleged behavior.
His one-time colleagues in Congress are being asked whether they knew about his conduct, which has been described as an open secret on Capitol Hill. Unions that supported Swalwell have fled, and political consultants are returning donations.
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, speaks to Kaiser Permanente nurses and healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente Zion Medical Center in San Diego on Jan. 26.
(Casey Alfred/San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, whose group had endorsed Swalwell and three others in the race, said she confronted Swalwell more than a month ago after hearing rumors about womanizing and illegal photos.
“He’s a liar,” Gonzalez said. “He is a very skilled politician who did not tell the truth even when asked directly.”
Although he was little known in much of California, when the 45-year-old Swalwell ran for office, he was a young and fresh face in a field of candidates, many of whom were experienced politicians.
A little more than a week ago, his campaign was progressing rapidly. His first statewide ad emphasized his hometown roots and the concerns of Californians, including the rising costs of his favorite donut shop in his hometown of Dublin. He received new endorsements from state and federal elected officials almost daily.
Multiple sources told The Times that former and current advisers close to Newsom were also helping Swalwell’s campaign. Other people associated with the Governor are also helping rival candidates.
“He is a liar. He is a very skilled politician who did not tell the truth even when asked directly.”
– California Labor Federation President Lorena Gonzalez
Other Democrats in the race said warnings about Swalwell should have been scrutinized more closely by powerful California politicians and the interest groups that support them.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called him a “flash in the pan” – someone who had no guts.
“Just because he was popular on TV, people thought maybe he was investigated,” Villaraigosa said. “He was not examined.”
Gubernatorial candidates Katie Porter and Antonio Villaraigosa share a moment while attending a candidate forum on January 10 in Los Angeles.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Swalwell’s entry into the race last fall came at a time when elected officials and leaders of powerful interest groups in Sacramento were unimpressed with the region, especially after big-name Democrats including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Alex Padilla and state Atty. General Rob Bonta was left running.
Sacramento-based Democratic consultant Steven Mavglio said there was pressure to find “the right candidate” for the state’s most powerful office.
“Democrats are looking for a fighter against Trump, and he fits the bill,” Mavglio said. “For most people that was enough.”
Like most members of California’s congressional delegation, Swalwell was an unfamiliar figure to many Californians living outside his Alameda County district, even though he had a strong, if mild, presence on social media.
He had never held statewide office when he was elected to Congress after a career that included serving on the Dublin City Council and as a criminal prosecutor for Alameda County.
But he appeared to be close to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who chose him to be her impeachment manager for the case against President Trump in 2021.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) addresses the crowd at the California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco on February 21, 2026.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
At a forum in Washington this week, Representative Pelosi rejected suggestions that Democrats are overreacting to the allegations.
When asked what allegations he had heard about, he said, “Nothing.”
Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who previously served with and supported Swalwell on the House Judiciary Committee, said on MS Now that he felt betrayed and “saddened” by the allegations.
“My overriding feeling is that I’m grateful that these women came forward,” Schiff said. “I’m grateful that they did it when they did – it prevented our state from making a potentially terrible mistake.”
Swalwell’s lawyer Sarah Azari said in a statement that he denies all allegations of sexual misconduct and assault and will pursue “every legal remedy” against those making the claims.
Azari said, “These allegations are false, fabricated and extremely offensive – it is a deliberate and transparent political strategy designed to destroy the reputation of a man who has spent twenty years in public service.”
Attorney Lisa Bloom approaches a photo at a news conference, where Lona Drews, left, is seen with former Rep. Eric Swalwell at a news briefing in Beverly Hills on Tuesday. Drews detailed a 2018 encounter in which she claimed Swalwell drugged and sexually assaulted her after offering her professional advice.
(Myung Jae Chun/Los Angeles Times)
On Tuesday, Lona Drews accused Swalwell of drugging and raping her while she was working as a model in 2018, an allegation that is now being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
In an interview on NewsNation, Azari said of Druze’s accusation: “Consent of two adults, which is our position, is not against the law.”
California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks this week declined to answer questions about whether the scandal harms the party’s credibility, saying only that the allegations “make it clear to voters: (Swalwell) is not a suitable replacement.”
In an interview with The Times, Hicks said that the party relies on delegates to vet candidates before endorsement votes at the party convention. While no gubernatorial candidate reached the necessary level of support to garner support at the February convention, Swalwell had the largest stake With 24%.
Gonzalez, of the labor federation, said she called Swalwell in the first week of March after several people contacted her about his sexually inappropriate behavior.
She described the awkward conversation and his immediate denial. “None of this is true,” he said. If there was anything despicable in his past, it would have been dug up by Trump and the conservatives who went after him when he was helping to try to impeach the president, he said.
At the union group’s advocacy meeting, members questioned Swalwell about a number of issues, including his claim of residence in Livermore, his involvement with a union, and his involvement with the New York Times. nonunion film productionand his ability to manage his own finances.
The issue of inappropriate sexual behavior never came up in support, Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said, “We, like many people, were in a position to find out who this guy was with all these red flags, but many surrogates said they were his choice — whether it was people in Congress or people who knew him from home.”
Other institutional players also supported him. California Medical Association. Endorsed Swalwell in early February. The group represents more than 50,000 physicians in the state and spends heavily on elections.
“It was definitely a sign that this is where the establishment should go,” Mavglio said.
California Medical Assoc. Spokeswoman Erin Mellon said the group met with the candidates and endorsed Swalwell “based on the information available to us” at the time.
Behind the scenes, Swalwell was enjoying the attention. According to a source who met him there, he started hanging out at the Grange, a favorite hotel bar in Sacramento for state lawmakers and lobbyists, and was trying to make a connection.
Months earlier, he had sent a text to a California political consultant asking who should help his campaign. He asked about the well-known firm of Bearstar Strategies, according to the text exchange, which was seen by The Times.
Swalwell messaged, “Would you recommend taking our IE to them?” For the consultant, a reference to an “independent expenditure”, which is an outside committee that raises money in support of candidates but is barred from coordinating with their campaigns.
Baystar Strategies eventually launched an independent committee to support Swalwell, which raised more than $7 million in recent weeks from the California Medical Association, DaVita and other medical industry groups, as well as political action committees for Uber.
Antonio Villaraigosa, left, shakes hands with Tom Steyer during a gubernatorial candidate forum in Sacramento on April 14, 2026.
(Godofredo A. Vasquez/Associated Press)
Baystar Strategies, whose members have long advised Newsom, also provided media counsel to a committee running aggressive ads against another candidate in the race, environmentalist Tom Steyer. Swalwell may have benefited from the committee’s expenses.
Jim DeBeau, a consultant and former Newsom chief of staff, is helping lead the anti-stayer committee, which has raised $14 million from real estate agents and utility industry groups, according to multiple sources. Deboo did not respond to a request for comment, and a representative for Bayerstar declined an interview request.
No one has claimed that any of those advisers or individuals were aware of Swalwell’s alleged behavior. BearStar Strategies said in a statement last week that it had suspended all activities at Swalwell’s independent expense.
Jamie Court, president of the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog, said institutional groups supported Swalwell because they thought he could win and they wanted to maintain the status quo in Sacramento.
The court said, “They chose the wrong man.”
