{"id":261940,"date":"2026-04-11T00:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T00:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/261940\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T00:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T00:52:18","slug":"california-governor-candidate-rep-eric-swalwell-denies-assault-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/261940\/","title":{"rendered":"California governor candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell denies assault allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) \u2014 In a stunning political reversal, prominent supporters of Rep. Eric Swalwell\u2019s<\/a> campaign for California governor withdrew their support Friday after the congressmember denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman twice, including when she worked for him.<\/p>\n

Swalwell was among the leading Democrats in the race<\/a> to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom. But in just hours, he saw his most prominent supporters – including U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff<\/a> and powerful labor unions – drop their endorsements and called for his exit the race. <\/p>\n

This comes after the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday<\/a> that a woman said Swalwell sexually assaulted her in 2019 and 2024. The newspaper reviewed text messages about the alleged 2024 assault and spoke to people whom she had told about it. She told the newspaper she did not go to police because she was afraid she would not be believed. <\/p>\n

The woman worked for Swalwell in 2019 when the first alleged assault occurred, and the 2024 assault allegedly occurred after a charity gala, the newspaper reported. She said in both cases she was too intoxicated to consent to sex.<\/p>\n

Swalwell denied the woman\u2019s account and suggested they were part of an attack due to his campaign\u2019s momentum<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor,\u201d Swalwell said in a statement. \u201cFor nearly 20 years, I have served the public \u2014 as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The paper didn\u2019t name the woman, and The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify her account and identity. Her lawyer declined to comment.<\/p>\n

The woman received a cease-and-desist letter from Swalwell\u2019s attorney, the Chronicle reported. The attorney, Elias Debaie, confirmed he sent out at least one letter and called the allegations \u201cbaseless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swift backlash from prominent Democrats<\/p>\n

On Friday afternoon, Schiff said in a social media post he\u2019s \u201cdeeply distressed\u201d by the allegations, calling for Swalwell to end his gubernatorial bid.<\/p>\n

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who hasn\u2019t endorsed in the race, said the \u201cserious allegations\u201d must be investigated.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, it is clear that is best done outside of a gubernatorial campaign,\u201d she said in social media posted by her staff.<\/p>\n

Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez, who helped run Swalwell\u2019s campaign, also said he\u2019s immediately ending his role.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe congressman should leave the race now so there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction, or delay,\u201d Gomez said on social media. <\/p>\n

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego and California Rep. Adam Gray also said they\u2019re yanking their support. Mark Ramos, who heads the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, called on Swalwell to end his campaign.<\/p>\n

Powerful labor unions, including the California Service Employees International Union and the California Teachers Association, said they\u2019re suspending their support. The California Federation of Labor Unions said it\u2019s \u201cacting urgently\u201d on next steps. <\/p>\n

A spokesperson for House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said the allegations require a \u201cserious and thorough investigation.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThese brave women must be heard and respected,\u201d spokeswoman Christie Stephenson said in a statement. \u201cIt is imperative that the investigation follow the facts, apply the law and take place immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing calls for Swalwell to drop out<\/p>\n

The allegations surfaced at a critical stage of the wide-open campaign<\/a> to lead the nation\u2019s most populous state. Mail ballots go out to voters in less than a month in advance of a June 2 primary election. <\/p>\n

Several of Swalwell\u2019s competitors also called on him to exit the race.<\/p>\n

Uncorroborated and nonspecific rumors that Swalwell behaved inappropriately with female staffers have circulated on social media for weeks, but the Chronicle\u2019s story is the first reported account of someone making a direct accusation. At a Tuesday campaign event in Sacramento, he told reporters he\u2019s never had a sexual relationship with a staff member or intern.<\/p>\n

Swalwell earlier this week announced a series of campaign functions he\u2019s planned around the state, but canceled the scheduled event Thursday in Palm Springs. <\/p>\n

Swalwell is among several leading Democrats<\/a> in the crowded field to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, and he immediately came under pressure from all other Democratic rivals to withdraw from the race. <\/p>\n

The emerging uproar could prove costly for Swalwell if his fundraising dries up, strangling his ability to run campaign ads, or if unions and other groups that endorsed his campaign begin to retract their decisions. <\/p>\n

Swalwell, who is originally from Iowa, was elected in 2012 and represents a House district east of San Francisco. He launched a presidential run<\/a> in April 2019 but shuttered it a few months later after failing to catch on with voters. He is perhaps best known nationally as a House manager in President Donald Trump\u2019s second impeachment trial<\/a> during his first term in early 2021.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) \u2014 In a stunning political reversal, prominent supporters of Rep. Eric Swalwell\u2019s campaign for California…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261941,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[17419,9984,2598,7,9,8,115115,536,989,115097,24115,457,18,115114,80028,6974,82976,8669,13,115113,6140,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-261940","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-adam-gray","9":"tag-adam-schiff","10":"tag-assault","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-california-headlines","13":"tag-california-news","14":"tag-christie-stephenson","15":"tag-donald-trump","16":"tag-elections","17":"tag-elias-debaie","18":"tag-eric-swalwell","19":"tag-gavin-newsom","20":"tag-general-news","21":"tag-hakeem-jeffries","22":"tag-jimmy-gomez","23":"tag-labor-unions","24":"tag-mark-ramos","25":"tag-nancy-pelosi","26":"tag-politics","27":"tag-ruben-gallego","28":"tag-u-s-democratic-party","29":"tag-u-s-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}