Democrat suspends US governor campaign

SACRAMENTO

California gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., speaks at a town hall meeting in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo)

U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell said on April 12 he was suspending his campaign for California governor following allegations he sexually assaulted a former staff member and engaged in sexual misconduct with other women.

The Democratic congressman was a frontrunner in the June primary election to replace Governor Gavin Newsom, but the allegations, published on April 10 in The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN, led a number of prominent Democrats to rescind their support for him.

Swalwell's departure leaves the crowded race to lead the Democratic state wide open. Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host supported by President Donald Trump, is one of the Republican candidates in the running.

"I am suspending my campaign for Governor," Swalwell, 45, announced in a statement posted to X on April 12 evening.

"To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I've made in my past.

"I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made, but that's my fight, not a campaign's," he said.

A former Swalwell staffer said that the congressman sexually assaulted her when she was heavily intoxicated, and left her bruised and bleeding, according to the reports from CNN and The San Francisco Chronicle.

Three other women also alleged sexual misconduct by Swalwell, CNN reported.