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Eric Swalwell was so close to becoming California’s governor that he was practically measuring the drapes.
And then, suddenly, it all came crashing down, thanks to his own egregious conduct.
Last night, after desperately trying to hang on, Swalwell suspended his campaign. He was delusional if he thought he could keep running. He finally faced the inevitable music.
The Democratic congressman didn’t have much choice. His own party, led by Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Adam Schiff and Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, was demanding that he drop out of the race.
SWALWELL FACES EXPULSION EFFORT FOLLOWING BOMBSHELL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., has suspended his campaign for governor. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
He was denying many of the specifics when it came to sexually abusing women on his staff, but his candidacy was clearly toast. His campaign chairman immediately resigned. The state teachers’ union withdrew its support. The service employees’ union suspended its campaign activities.
In a video Friday night, Swalwell seemed to soften his denials:
“I do not suggest to you in any way that I’m perfect or that I’m a saint. I have certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past, but those mistakes are between me and my wife and to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position.”
Nobody’s buying that. When you’re a public figure with three children, it’s not just between you and your spouse. It’s also between you and the voters.
SWALWELL ATTORNEY DENIES MISCONDUCT, SAYS CONGRESSMAN TOOK ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ‘LAPSES IN JUDGMENT’
Why, knowing of the intense scrutiny a gubernatorial candidate faces, would Swalwell allegedly engage in sex with staffers, given the stark power imbalance between a member of Congress and starstruck young women?
When Swalwell says all this emerged to torpedo his frontrunner campaign – “these allegations are false” – he is probably right. But he put the target on his own back.
Actually, a bandwagon running on four flat tires may be the least of the candidate’s problems. The Manhattan district attorney’s office confirms that it has opened an investigation into some of the allegations, and openly invited “survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations” to get in touch with its special victims unit.
What’s more, both House and campaign staffers for Swalwell gave news outlets an unsigned letter saying they’re “horrified” by the allegations, calling them “abhorrent, beneath the dignity of those serving in public office,” which “betrays the trust of all Californians.” And one Republican representative, Anna Paulina Luna, is pushing for the House to expel him.
The media have clearly been driving the disclosures about the congressman, who represents the San Francisco area. One of the other two major Democratic candidates – former congresswoman Katie Porter or billionaire Tom Steyer – will inherit the frontrunner’s mantle.
In California’s “jungle primary,” the top two finishers make it to the fall ballot, regardless of party. President Trump has already endorsed former British politician and Fox News host Steve Hilton. But in the bluest of blue states, the Democratic candidate is virtually assured of winning.
President Donald Trump endorsed Republican political commentator Steve Hilton for the Golden State’s governorship. (Getty Images)
The San Francisco Chronicle conducted a series of interviews with a woman who said Swalwell had assaulted her twice when she was too drunk to consent, including one encounter when he was her boss.
The woman did not report the alleged assaults because she didn’t think she’d be believed, according to the Chronicle, which viewed texts that she sent to a friend at the time, and medical records showing she sought pregnancy and STD testing days after the alleged 2024 assault.
CNN also reported on this woman, along with three others who accused Swalwell of various kinds of sexual misconduct. The woman was shown in shadow to protect her identity, and said she felt comfortable meeting Swalwell – after a 2019 drunken encounter – because she now had a partner and felt more confident:
“After that bar closed, we went to another, I went to the bathroom, and I don’t remember anything after that… I remember the next day, I can see flashes of that evening of him on top of me, me pushing him off, him grabbing me. It was a lot more aggressive. It was aggressive.”
“Did you say no?” asked anchor Pamela Brown.
“Yes. I said no. I said I — in my flash that I can recall, I was pushing him off of me saying no.”
What did he do?
“He didn’t stop.”
The unidentified woman said that in 2019, when she was still working for Swalwell, she woke up naked with him in a hotel room after a night of heavy drinking. She said she had no memory of what happened but could feel physically that they’d had sexual contact.
CNN reported that three other women said Swalwell sent them unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos.
The New York Times interviewed a social media influencer named in the CNN report, Ally Sammarco, who said the congressman sent her inappropriate messages on Snapchat in 2021. Snapchat content is programmed to disappear after a short period of time.
Sammarco, now 28, told the paper that Swalwell told her she was attractive and asked about alcohol.
“A lot of it was like photos of him going on trips, on airplanes, in hotels, him laying in bed, and then like things like, ‘What would you do if I was, like, with you’ or, like, ‘Wish you were here,’” Sammarco told the paper, adding that he also sent an unsolicited photo of his penis.
PELOSI, CALIFORNIA DEMS SLAM SWALWELL OVER BOMBSHELL SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS: ‘INDEFENSIBLE’
“It made me feel gross and uncomfortable. I didn’t ask for that,” Sammarco is quoted as saying. While posting pictures of the birth of his third baby, she says, he was messaging her: “When am I going to see you?”
Sammarco says she finally stopped responding after realizing the congressman wasn’t going to help her find a job.
Politico, meanwhile, reports that a former Swalwell employee, upon leaving his office, signed an agreement that required confidentiality and non-disparagement. This was related to workplace discrimination, not sexual harassment. A spokesman had denied that the office had used any NDAs.
A Swalwell attorney sent letters to two of the women cited by CNN, demanding they retract their statements or face possible legal action.
These letters said the women’s claims were “undermined” by their “voluntary and cooperative relationship with Mr. Swalwell over the course of many years,” including the former staffer asking him for job references.
I guess those letters are now moot. You think?
Eric Swalwell has categorically denied the allegations. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
Had the allegations been made by just one woman, it would have been easier for the candidate to dismiss. It’s not like sexual accusations haven’t been made against Trump and the term-limited governor and 2028 contender Gavin Newsom, which he has admitted.
Even a close personal friend of Swalwell, Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, pulled his endorsement, calling the conduct “indefensible.”
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Eric Swalwell showed no sensitivity to the intimidation factor involving young female staffers. The overall pattern, according to their allegations, is the same.
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It’s hardly surprising that his party wanted Swalwell immediately booted from the race. Instead of heading to Sacramento, he wiped out his political career.
