Representative Eric Swalwell, the Democratic front-runner in the race for California governor, was accused of sexual harassment by a former staff member in a report published Friday.
The woman said she and the Northern California congressman had multiple consensual sex, but he sexually assaulted her twice when she was too drunk to consent. The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The woman was 21 when she started working for the Congress leader, who is nearly two decades her senior, and she said she did not report the incidents to the police because she feared she would not be believed.
“I don’t care who becomes governor of California, but I think people have a right to know that the man who leads a state that is a safe haven for so many women actually treats women with respect and will protect their rights,” the woman, who was not identified because she is an alleged victim of sexual assault, told the Chronicle. “No one protected me from him, and so I have to protect other young women like me who aspire to work in this field and who he might prey on.”
Swalwell denied the allegations Friday.
“These allegations are false and have been made on the eve of elections against a strong contender for the post of governor,” he said in a statement. “For nearly 20 years, I have served the public – as a prosecutor and as a Congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and take legal action where necessary. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies.”
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, the other Democrat running for governor, immediately asked Swalwell to drop out of the race.
Allegations of inappropriate behavior by the Congressman have been circulating on social media and political circles for several weeks. On Thursday, an attorney representing Swalwell sent a cease-and-desist letter to an individual demanding that they stop accusing the congressman of sexual harassment.
Two days earlier, the congressman condemned online claims that he had inappropriate relationships with Youth Congress staff members.
“That’s a lie,” he told reporters after a town hall in Sacramento, adding that he never behaved inappropriately with female staff members or had sexual relations with any staff member or intern. He also denied allegations that his staff members were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements or enter into legal settlements.
The allegations of inappropriate behavior come at a critical time in the race to replace ousted Governor Gavin Newsom. The primary is June 2, but ballots will begin arriving in voters’ mailboxes in less than a month.
The race to lead the nation’s largest state is still on, with eight leading Democrats and two top Republicans competing to finish first or second in the primary and advance to the November election.
Swalwell, 45, is among prominent Democrats. In a recent UC Berkeley poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, he had the support of 13% of likely voters. That puts him in first place among Democrats, along with former Orange County Representative Katie Porter, while billionaire Tom Steyer is not far behind.
Swalwell has garnered the support of powerful unions, including Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and the California Teachers Association, along with several of his Democratic colleagues in the House of Representatives.
CTA President David Goldberg called the allegations “incredibly disturbing and unacceptable.”
“We are immediately suspending our support. Our elected board will meet as soon as possible to follow our union’s democratic process to determine next steps.”
California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks said victims must be believed and reiterated his call for Democratic candidates to assess their feasibility.
“The allegations against Congressman Swalwell are extremely disturbing,” he said in a statement. “Anyone who engaged in misconduct must take responsibility and be held accountable for their actions – including members of Congress and candidates for governor. Finally, my call for all candidates for governor to ‘honestly assess the feasibility of their candidacy and campaign’ still stands. Indeed, that call is more important now than ever.”
Even before the allegations were published on Friday, concerns were rising among Democrats.
The woman told the Chronicle that she was hired to work in Swalwell’s Castro Valley district office in 2019 when she was 21 years old. He immediately started following her, sending messages and then sending nude photos on Snapchat.
According to the report, in September of that year, she said she had been drinking with the congressman, passed out and realized the effects of the orgasm when she woke up naked in Swalwell’s hotel bed. In 2024, when she no longer worked for Swalwell, she said she attended a charity event honoring the congressman and others and then met him for drinks. According to the Chronicle, she was intoxicated, but she remembered Swalwell forcing himself on her and pushing her away and saying, “No”.
The Chronicle confirmed her report with messages she sent to a friend at the time and interviews with the friend and the woman’s then-boyfriend. Chronicle reporters also reviewed medical records regarding pregnancy and STD texts a week after the alleged assault. She told them that she had remained silent about the alleged assaults out of fear of professional and personal consequences.
Cheyenne Hunt, a Laguna Hills attorney and executive director of a progressive advocacy group, and social media influencer Ariel Fodor, known online as Mrs. Frazzled, are among those publicizing the allegations online. Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, who has feuded with Swalwell in the past, also escalated the allegations on social media.
The Times has not independently confirmed reports of inappropriate behavior.
Many politicians have survived allegations of sexual impropriety, notably President Trump, who was accused of rape before winning the White House in 2016; Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who admitted inappropriate behavior during his 2003 election campaign and his film career, and Newsom, who admitted having an affair with a married staffer while he was mayor of San Francisco.
A former prosecutor, Swalwell is married and has three children. The Iowa native briefly ran for president in 2020. On Thursday, he canceled a town hall in Palm Desert because he was reportedly ill.
He has previously spoken out against sexual misconduct, most recently in support of women who told The New York Times that they were assaulted by famed farmworker organizer Cesar Chavez.
“The women who have come forward have been enduring years of pain. It takes real courage to speak out,” Swalwell wrote in a tweet last month. “Ana Murguia, Debra Rojas and Dolores Huerta are speaking out with clarity and strength. I stand with them and condemn all incidents of sexual harassment.”
The congressman also defended women who accused Brett Kavanaugh, the nominee to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018, of sexual misconduct.
“The more cases that are separate and independent that look alike, very soon a prosecutor starts saying to the jury … that the arrows are pointing in the same direction and what is the likelihood that three or four women, independently, who have never met each other, will have similar experiences with one person,” he said on MSNow’s Ari Melber during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing in September 2018.
In Congress, Swalwell has been a prominent critic of President Trump, serving as manager of the president’s second impeachment and frequently attacking Trump on cable news shows.
In late March, The Washington Post reported that FBI Director Kash Patel might release documents about a decade-old investigation into Swalwell’s ties to a suspected Chinese spy. Swalwell severed ties with Christine Fang, or Fang Fang, in 2015 after intelligence officials warned her and other members of Congress about Chinese efforts to infiltrate legislators’ offices. Swalwell was not accused of impropriety.
After news of the possible release of the files broke, Swalwell accused Trump of influencing gubernatorial elections and weaponizing the federal government against his political enemies.
Swalwell’s lawyers filed a cease-and-desist letter with Patel and the FBI. No documents have been released as of Friday.
He was previously accused of mortgage fraud by Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Swalwell sued Pulte last year but dropped the suit this month.
In the gubernatorial race, Swalwell faced criticism from fellow Democrat Tom Steyer that he was ineligible to run for governor because he did not actually live in California. Earlier this year, a Sacramento County judge ruled against a similar claim made by a conservative filmmaker.
