Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell suspends campaign to succeed Gavin Newsom after media reports detailed alleged accounts of sexual assault.
By Reuters and The Associated Press
Published On 12 Apr 202612 Apr 2026
US Congressman Eric Swalwell has dropped out of the California state gubernatorial race following sexual assault allegations.
“I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” he said in a social media statement on Sunday.
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“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,” added the Democrat.
His statement came after a number of influential Democratic Party lawmakers called on him to exit the race and resign from the United States Congress following reports from CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle that detailed alleged accounts of sexual assault from a former staffer and misconduct allegations from several other women.
“What he did is sick and disgusting,” Congressman Ro Khanna told the news programme Fox News Sunday, calling for investigations into the allegations by law enforcement and the US House of Representatives.
A March poll from Emerson College had shown Swalwell ahead of Democratic and Republican challengers by several points in the race to replace Governor Gavin Newsom.
But the reports shook his campaign, with powerful figures and organisations revoking their endorsements and calling for him to drop out over the weekend. The Manhattan district attorney’s office confirmed on Saturday that it was investigating the allegations.
Eric Swalwell, appears at a town hall meeting in Sacramento, California, on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 [Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo]
Republican US Representative Anna Paulina Luna said she would submit a motion to begin the process of expelling Swalwell, a move some Democrats in Congress said they could support.
“This is not a partisan issue,” Representative Pramila Jayapal said on Sunday. “This cuts across party lines. And it is the depravity of the way that women have been treated.”
Democrats have also called for the expulsion of Representative Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas who is also facing sexual misconduct allegations.
Khanna and Republican Representative Byron Donalds have said that they could support a bid to eject both Gonzales and Swalwell from Congress.
“As far as I’m concerned, both gentlemen need to go home,” Donalds said.