Democratic Heavyweights Withdraw Support For California’s Eric Swalwell As Sexual Misconduct Allegations Mount

by | Apr 11, 2026 | General

Rep. Eric Swalwell‘s (D-Calif.) California governor bid collapsed Friday as his campaign chair quit, two U.S. senators pulled endorsements and online fundraising platform ActBlue froze donations amid mounting sexual misconduct allegations.

Allies Cut Ties

Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), both longtime allies of Swalwell, withdrew their endorsements, CNN reported. Campaign chair Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) stepped down immediately, and top labor adviser Courtni Pugh also left the campaign.

According to the report, an independent expenditure group supporting Swalwell suspended all campaign activity, while ActBlue, the fundraising platform critical to Democratic campaigns, posted that it would stop accepting donations for his campaign.

Rivals Demand Swalwell Exit Race

On X, gubernatorial rival and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called the allegations “shocking and reprehensible,” accusing Swalwell of attempting to silence victims and demanding he withdraw from the race and immediately resign from Congress.

Allegations of sexual misconduct have affected Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign, leading several Democratic figures to withdraw their support. This development may influence the outcome of the nonpartisan primary, in which only the top two candidates, regardless of party, advance to the general election.

FBI Files Shadow Campaign Before Collapse

Swalwell, a former prosecutor and vocal Trump critic, formally entered the governor’s race in November 2025. His campaign had already faced headwinds before Friday. In 2023, a Republican-led House Ethics Committee closed a two-year investigation into the congressman, deciding to take no further action. In March 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel pushed to release investigative files from a decade-old probe into Swalwell’s ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative— a move Sen. Schiff called “dangerous and unlawful.”

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