Representative Eric Swalwell’s campaign for governor faltered on Friday after two news reports detailed allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, leading to the resignation of several staffers and both key aides and rival candidates calling on the California Democrat to drop out of the race.
exodus, which began just before The San Francisco Chronicle reportedpublished","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php","_Identification": :"0000019d-7b50-debe-a7dd-7ffd64410000","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-7b50-debe-a7dd-7ffd64410001","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>The San Francisco Chronicle published a report California’s marquee race suffered a setback just weeks before ballots began arriving in voters’ mailboxes, detailing a former staffer’s claims. The former employee told the newspaper that Swalwell had sex with her while she worked for him and that he twice sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent.
hours later, CNN reported","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexy-misconduct-allegations-invs","_Identification": :"0000019d-7b50-debe-a7dd-7ffd64410002","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-7b50-debe-a7dd-7ffd64410003","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>CNN reported That former employee and three additional women accused Swalwell of sexually harassing and sending explicit photos and messages. And Politico reported that a former Swalwell staffer had signed an agreement on an employment discrimination claim that included confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses, despite his campaign stating that none of his staff had signed an NDA during his tenure.
The dominoes fell rapidly. Top staffers departed from the campaign shortly before the Chronicle story was published. Major supporters began to cancel or withhold their support. And the pro-Swalwell Independent Expenditure Committee said it was suspending operations.
Swalwell’s two campaign co-chairs, Representatives Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, asked Swalwell to drop out – a stunning rebuke from prominent surrogates who had helped introduce Swalwell to power players in Sacramento, where both had served in the state Assembly.
“Today I received shocking information about Eric Swalwell including the ugliest and most serious allegations,” Gomez said in a statement. “My involvement in any campaign begins and ends with trust. I cannot in good conscience continue to play any role in this campaign, and I am withdrawing from it, effective immediately.”
California Senator Adam Schiff, who joined with Gomez in calling for Swalwell to join major labor unions, also called on Swalwell to leave the race, as did California Senator Alex Padilla, who is neutral in the governor’s race.
Swalwell was also singled out by Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, who said he was withdrawing his support and expressed regret for defending Swalwell in recent days.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for an investigation and said she had talked to Swalwell about leaving the race.
“As I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, it is clear that this is best done outside of the gubernatorial campaign,” he said in a statement.
The fallout spread to the major interest groups that had supported Swalwell. The California Medical Association, which was Swalwell’s first major endorser among Sacramento interest groups, said it was calling an emergency board meeting.
An independent expenditure committee funded by the CMA was also shelved.
A spokesperson for Californians in Support of Eric Swalwell said, “In light of the serious allegations, IE is immediately suspending campaign activity.” The committee was joined by Uber and former gubernatorial candidate and Swalwell ally Stephen J. Also financed by Klubek.
Major labor groups also fell into trouble. The California Teachers Association withdrew its support, as did SEIU California.
CTA President David Goldberg said in a statement, “The allegations against Representative Swalwell are incredibly disturbing and unacceptable. We are immediately suspending our support.”
California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks did not call for Swalwell to be ousted, but he hinted at the possibility in a statement, calling the allegations “deeply disturbing” and repeating his previous call for non-viable Democrats to leave the race – signaling that Swalwell was no longer a viable option.
“My call to all candidates for governor — again, all — is to ‘honestly assess the feasibility of your candidacy and campaign,'” Hicks said. “In fact, that call is more important now than ever.”
A campaign spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment Friday about the departure of campaign staffers, but Swalwell issued a statement broadly denying the allegations.
“These allegations are false and have been made on the eve of the elections against the front-runner in the race for the post of governor,” it said. “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.”
Senior leadership members abruptly left the campaign, including Courtney Pugh, a strategic adviser who had served as Swalwell’s top contact to organized labor groups.
Pugh confirmed his resignation, but declined to comment further. Two other people, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal campaign dynamics, confirmed that there have been at least four departures.
Several Democrats running for governor have called on Swalwell to drop out of the race and resign from Congress – including former Representative Katie Porter and billionaire Tom Steyer, who along with Swalwell have consistently been the top-polling Democrat and may benefit from his departure.
Swalwell had shown signs of consolidating support in the disorganized Democratic field for weeks — but the emergence of damaging allegations has thrown an already volatile race into turmoil.
Just a few weeks ago, Swalwell’s bid seemed to be gaining the kind of momentum that would allow him to overtake a entrenched Democratic field. He received valuable support from labor unions as deep-pocketed interests launched a super PAC for him.
and alleged pressure by the Trump administration to release documents ","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/03/31/swalwell-basks-in-trumps-ire-00851518","_Identification": :"0000019d-7b50-debe-a7dd-7ffd64410004","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-7b50-debe-a7dd-7ffd64410005","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”> Pressure to release documents reported The investigation into Swalwell’s ties to a suspected Chinese operator appears to be to the Democrats’ benefit.
But soon after this, allegations of inappropriate behavior with female employees started appearing on social media. Swalwell strongly denied those allegations through a spokesperson earlier this week","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/07/swalwell-campaign-denies-claims-inproper-behavior-00862406","_Identification": :"0000019d-7b50-debe-a7dd-7ffd64410006","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-7b50-debe-a7dd-7ffd64410007","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>through a spokesperson Who attacked the “false, defamatory rumor”.
“I have seen some allegations, which is that we had NDA people in our office – never. There were never any allegations, and there was never any settlement,” Swalwell. told journalists","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"http://youtube.com/watch?v=2WDzKYtvKs0&time_dependent=2&source_ve_path=NzY3NTg&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com %2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dswalwell%2Bdenies%2Brumor%26oq%3Dswalwell%2Bdenies%2Brumor%26gs_lcrp%3DEgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg8MgYIAhBFG","_Identification": :"0000019d-7b50-debe-a7dd-7ffd64410008","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-7b50-debe-a7dd-7ffd64410009","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>told reporters On Wednesday.
An attorney for Swalwell confirmed to POLITICO on Friday that he had sent cease-and-desist letters to at least one person accusing Swalwell of misconduct.
“We learned from press outlets that multiple allegations have been made against the congressman,” attorney Elias Dabai said in an email. “We believe those allegations are baseless and continue to seek the truth. We also want to understand why these allegations would suddenly arise against the front-runner on the eve of the election, in what appears to be a coordinated effort to undermine his candidacy.”
The next day, Swalwell abruptly canceled a planned town hall with Representative Raul Ruiz, citing illness.
Fearing a race-rewriting incident, several of Swalwell’s rivals have attacked him in recent days and accused him of hypocrisy given his past statements in support of the woman who accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault before his confirmation hearing.
