{"id":262317,"date":"2026-04-11T06:22:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T06:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/262317\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T06:22:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T06:22:22","slug":"top-house-democrats-call-on-swalwell-to-end-california-governor-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/262317\/","title":{"rendered":"Top House Democrats call on Swalwell to end California governor campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Top House Democrats<\/a> joined the growing number of politicians calling on Rep. Eric Swalwell<\/a> (D-CA) to withdraw from California\u2019s<\/a> gubernatorial race on Friday following sexual assault allegations against the congressman.<\/p>\n

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries<\/a> (D-NY), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark<\/a> (D-MA), and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar<\/a> (D-CA) issued a joint statement Friday evening requesting that Swalwell end his campaign after four women came forward to allege sexual misconduct, including one woman who told CNN<\/a> she was raped.<\/p>\n

Swalwell strongly denies the accusations and has threatened legal action against the women.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call for a swift investigation into these incidents and for the Congressman to immediately end his campaign to be California\u2019s next Governor,\u201d the Democratic leaders said. \u201cWe commend the courageous women for sharing their experiences. In this and all circumstances, we must ensure that those who come forward with allegations of sexual assault and harassment are heard and respected.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi<\/a> (D-CA), who had not previously endorsed the race, also urged Swalwell to withdraw and called for \u201cthis extremely sensitive matter\u201d to be \u201cappropriately investigated with full transparency and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The remarks came as support for Swalwell rapidly eroded across the Democratic Party. Several high-profile backers, including Sen. Adam Schiff<\/a> (D-CA) and Sen. Ruben Gallego<\/a> (D-AZ), rescinded their endorsements, while campaign co-chairs and other allies also urged him to end his bid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The wave of defections followed reporting that a former staffer accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting<\/a> her multiple times while she was intoxicated. Swalwell has called the allegations false and politically motivated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor nearly 20 years, I have served the public \u2013 as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women,\u201d Swalwell said in a statement. \u201cI 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

In a personal statement, Jeffries emphasized his support for the former staffer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are very serious allegations that require a serious and thorough investigation,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cThis brave woman must be heard and respected. It is imperative that the inquiry follow the facts, apply the law and take place immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within hours of the allegations becoming public, key parts of his political coalition began to unravel. Labor groups and major organizations, including the California Teachers Association, moved to suspend or withdraw support, while campaign staffers and advisers resigned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Swalwell\u2019s page on ActBlue, a Democratic platform for campaign donations, is currently not accepting contributions.<\/p>\n

EX-STAFFER CLAIMS SWALWELL SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER. HE DENIES ALLEGATIONS<\/a><\/p>\n

The controversy has quickly reshaped the already crowded race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a> (D-CA), who is term-limited in 2026. Swalwell, a congressman since 2012 and former presidential candidate, had been considered a competitive contender in a field that includes prominent Democrats such as Katie Porter, Xavier Becerra, and Matt Mahan.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump<\/a> has endorsed Republican Steve Hilton in the race. California\u2019s jungle primary system sends the top two finishers in the June 2 election, regardless of party, to the general election in November.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Top House Democrats joined the growing number of politicians calling on Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to withdraw from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,1751,24115,115114,115216,8669,115217,2531],"class_list":{"0":"post-262317","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-democrats","12":"tag-eric-swalwell","13":"tag-hakeem-jeffries","14":"tag-katherine-clark","15":"tag-nancy-pelosi","16":"tag-pete-aguilar","17":"tag-sexual-assault"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262317","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=262317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}