Democratic candidate Eric Swalwell dropped out of the governor’s race Sunday afternoon after a former staffer accused the East Bay congressman of sexual assault and three others accused him of sexual misconduct, prompting key allies to withdraw endorsements and pressure him to withdraw from the race.

“I am suspending my campaign for Governor. To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” Swalwell wrote on X. “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle published the account of an unnamed woman who said Swalwell, 45, sexually assaulted her while she was too intoxicated to consent while she worked on his staff in 2019 and again after she’d left his office in 2024. Hours later, CNN published its own story of the woman as well as three others who said Swalwell made unwanted advances, including one who said she’d ended up in his hotel room with little recollection of what transpired and two who said they’d received unsolicited nude photos of his penis.

Swalwell suspended his campaign 48 hours after he repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, as staff members fled, organized labor yanked their support, and Democrats from the California Legislature up to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi urged him to withdraw from the race. Until Sunday night, Swalwell had resisted those calls, denying the accusations as “flat false.” He hinted at legal action after his attorney Elias Dabaie sent two accusers cease-and-desist letters.

Dabaie on Friday questioned the allegations as politically motivated and said the congressman, a married father of three, would return to the campaign trail to clear his name after taking time off to spend with family. A campaign source told The California Post that Swalwell filmed his video denying the accusations from the Beverly Hills mansion of Stephen Cloobeck, a hotel magnate who has bankrolled Swalwell since dropping his own short-lived bid for governor.

Cloobeck did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.

Swalwell faced a growing chorus of Democratic officials calling for him to step aside, including Pelosi, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Alex Padilla, and Sen. Adam Schiff, as well as 50 former staffers.

Both of Swalwell’s campaign chairs, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles and Rep. Adam Grey, D-Modesto, stepped down and called for him to quit the race. California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks repeated his previous call for gubernatorial hopefuls “to honestly assess the viability of their candidacy and campaign.”

Swalwell under investigation

As support for his campaign evaporated, Swalwell now faces criminal investigations into his alleged misconduct.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, announced Saturday his office was investigating an assault that reportedly took place in New York. Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson is investigating a 2019 assault in which Swalwell reportedly raped his staffer at a hotel after drinks at a Pleasanton steakhouse.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said she would file a motion to expel Swalwell from Congress, which drew bipartisan support. The Department of Homeland Security is also probing him for allegedly paying a nanny after a right-wing filmmaker who previously sued Swalwell said he had evidence the nanny continue to work after overstaying her visa.

Multiple members of Swalwell’s campaign quit Friday and on Saturday released a statement: “We stand with our former colleague and the other women who have come forward. We believe you should stand with them, too.”

So did dozens of former staffers for his congressional office and short-lived 2019 presidential campaign. “The people of California’s 14th Congressional District, and the people of this country, deserve representation from someone whose conduct reflects the values of public service,” they wrote in a letter published Sunday. “Remaining in either role while these allegations hang unresolved is an insult to every person who has ever worked for him, reported to him, or placed their trust in him.”

Prominent labor groups who’d backed the Democrat, including SEIU California and the California Labor Federation, withdrew their endorsements and suspended campaign activities. Members of the California Democratic National Convention delegation who attended a DNC meeting in New Orleans over the weekend called on Swalwell to step aside.

Swalwell’s campaign website stopped accepting donations Friday. Californians For a Fighter, the Uber- and Cloobeck-backed independent expenditure behind him, also suspended activity.

Before last week, Swalwell had emerged as one of the leading candidates in the field of eight Democrats and two Republicans. He consolidated endorsements from Schiff and dozens of other Democrats in both Congress and the California Legislature. Some recent polls showed him in the lead over former Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, two other leading Democrats in the race.

Internal polls from Steyer and Porter’s campaigns showed that the two candidates are poised to siphon votes from Swalwell supporters.

‘King of Snapchat’

Swalwell, a former Alameda County prosecutor, was first elected to Congress in 2012 and built a reputation during President Donald Trump’s first term as a strident critic of the president. He became known as one of the House’s more media-savvy members, frequently appearing on cable news to critique Trump’s policies and emerged as Congress’ “king of Snapchat,” the disappearing photo messaging app where his accusers said he sent them images of his genitals.

In 2015, the FBI warned him that a Chinese spy had tried to infiltrate his office by fundraising on his behalf. Swalwell cut ties with her and was never charged in the investigation, which White House officials were reportedly trying to publicize last month, which Swalwell claimed was an effort to influence the governor’s race.

The Democrat served as manager of Trump’s second impeachment trial and sued the president for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In September, he cited that experience in his appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” where he announced his campaign for governor.

The claims of sexual misconduct became prominent on social media over the last week, when liberal influencers and consultants, including Gen Z for Change director Cheyenne Hunt and education influencer Arielle Fodor, posted vague accusations that Swalwell had abused his power with young women and teased coming investigative stories profiling the issue.

Swalwell personally addressed those claims at a campaign stop in Sacramento last Tuesday, saying the accusations were false and suggesting they were intended to derail momentum in his campaign for governor.

Before the sexual assault charges broke into public view, Swalwell was already under scrutiny as reporters questioned his use of campaign funds on childcare and UberEats, his absence from Congress, and whether he lived full-time in his district.

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