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WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 25: U.S. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) speaks at a press conference on committee assignments for the 118th U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, Calif. – Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is the latest candidate to announce his run for governor of California.
Swalwell, 45, said on Thursday ahead of an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that he would throw his hat in the ring for the 2026 governor’s race.
He joins a crowded pool of high-profile candidates that includes Tom Steyer, Steve Hilton and Katie Porter. Current Gov. Gavin Newsom is being termed out.
Swalwell – who represents California’s 14th Congressional District, which encompasses a large portion of the East Bay – has been a vocal and leading critic of President Donald Trump since the latter’s first administration.
Swalwell has referred to himself as “the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him,” referring to a suit stemming from the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 where the congressman holds Trump and his allies “wholly responsible” for injury and destruction that occurred that day.
He has also been the subject of a U.S. Justice Department probe for alleged mortgage fraud.
Swalwell issued a statement in the wake of the probe about the targeting of political opponents, in reference to the Trump administration. However, the statement did not explicitly address the reports of a DOJ probe against him, nor did it include denial of mortgage fraud.