Swalwell Suspends California Governor Bid Amid Sexual Misconduct Claims

Rep. Eric Swalwell's path to the California governor's mansion evaporated overnight. A leading candidate in a wide-open primary suddenly found himself answering multiple accusations of sexual misconduct instead of courting voters, with the resulting pressure forcing him to step aside from the race and confront renewed questions about his future in Congress.

The allegations broke Friday. The San Francisco Chronicle published accounts from a former staffer who said Swalwell assaulted her twice in 2024 while she was too intoxicated to consent, leaving her bruised and bleeding after she resisted. CNN separately reported three other women accusing the 45-year-old Democrat of sending unsolicited explicit messages or nude photographs. One accuser described events in a New York hotel room. Swalwell has denied all claims. He called them "serious, false allegations" timed to damage his frontrunner status less than two months before ballots drop in California's June 2 jungle primary.

In a social media statement Sunday night, Swalwell expressed regret. He apologized to family, staff, friends and supporters for "mistakes in judgment I've made in the past" but said the fight against the claims belonged to him personally, not a campaign. He has sent cease-and-desist letters to the accusers and promised to defend himself with facts, including what he says is an absence of any nondisclosure agreements or settlements. His campaign website, however, continued to list events and solicit donations in the hours after the announcement, a detail noted in bias reviews but not uniformly addressed in initial coverage.

The political damage spread quickly. More than 50 former Swalwell staffers signed a letter describing the allegations as "serious, credible and demand accountability." The letter, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee, argued that staying in office or on the ballot while the claims remain unresolved would insult everyone who had trusted him. Several prominent Democrats withdrew endorsements. Sen. Adam Schiff of California pulled his support, as did Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, who had co-chaired the campaign. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi also distanced themselves, according to multiple outlets. On the Republican side, Rep. Nancy Mace called the suspension a "good first step" and urged resignation or expulsion. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said she would file a motion to expel Swalwell from the House if he did not resign within 24 hours. Expulsion is rare. It requires a two-thirds majority; the last successful case, in 2023, removed Rep. George Santos of New York.

Some Democratic lawmakers went further. Reps. Jared Huffman, Pramila Jayapal and Teresa Leger Fernández indicated they would support expulsion proceedings against Swalwell, though they paired that stance with a call to also oust Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican who has faced his own misconduct questions. These specific positions appeared in certain reports but could not be independently verified in every outlet covering the story.

Layered onto the sexual misconduct claims are separate questions about Swalwell's household employment. The New York Post reported that the Department of Homeland Security is investigating whether the congressman and his wife hired a Brazilian national, Amanda Barbosa, as a nanny without proper work authorization after her au pair visa expired in 2022. The probe began after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received a February complaint from filmmaker Joel Gilbert, whose past work has included conspiracy-oriented documentaries. A DHS spokesperson told the Post that the allegations are serious, that no employer is above the law, and that the matter had been referred for law enforcement review. Social media photos reviewed by the Post appeared to show Barbosa continuing to assist with the children into 2024. Some outlets linked this development to broader campaign-finance questions after Federal Election Commission records allegedly showed payments to Barbosa from Swalwell's campaign funds; those specific dollar figures, however, were not corroborated by other reporting and remain unverified.

Reports also circulated that the Manhattan District Attorney's office had opened an investigation into the sexual assault allegations. The Washington Post and CBS News carried versions of this claim, citing unnamed spokespeople, yet multiple other major outlets, including the BBC and KCRA, made no mention of it. Under the epistemic standard applied here, the Manhattan probe therefore stands as unverified by the full set of available sources.

The timing could hardly have been worse for Swalwell. California’s jungle primary pits all candidates against one another regardless of party; the top two advance to November. Early polling had shown Swalwell leading a fragmented Democratic field that included billionaire Tom Steyer, former Rep. Katie Porter, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, state Superintendent Tony Thurmond and others. With ballots scheduled to mail in early May, Swalwell’s name cannot be removed. Political strategist Garry South told CNN the race is now “wide open” and “today is Day 1.” Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco have polled competitively in the top tier, a rarity in deep-blue California.

Swalwell, a former prosecutor who entered Congress in 2013, built much of his public profile on national security matters and advocacy for women’s issues. He has repeatedly emphasized that record in rebuttals, stating he has “always protected women.” The contrast is not lost on critics. Cheyenne Hunt, a Democrat who ran for Congress in 2024, had signaled weeks earlier that women were preparing to come forward with harassment and abuse claims. Her comments, first reported by The Federalist, added to the sense that the story had been circulating privately before breaking publicly.

No criminal charges have been filed. The allegations rest on accusers’ accounts, some of which the Chronicle said were supported by medical records and text messages. Swalwell’s team disputes timelines and motives. The gap between accusation and adjudication now defines the central tension: whether the claims will produce legal consequences, congressional sanction, or merely political oblivion in a climate where unproven allegations can still end careers.

Further developments are expected when the House returns to session. Any expulsion motion would test both parties’ willingness to hold one of their own to account under extraordinary circumstances. California voters, meanwhile, will weigh the scandal against policy differences in a primary that suddenly lacks its former front-runner. The story remains fluid. New details on the investigations, additional accusers, or Swalwell’s legal response could shift the narrative again.