Eric Swalwell suspends campaign for governor of California amid accusations of sexual assault

By FIONA CONNOR, US NIGHT NEWS EDITOR Published: 01:44, 13 April 2026 | Updated: 01:59, 13 April 2026 Eric Swalwell has suspended his campaign for governor of California amid allegations of sexual assault.  The Democrat dropped out of the race after 50 former members of his staff joined a growing chorus calling for him to resign from his position in Congress and drop out of the governor's race.   'I am suspending my campaign for Governor,' Swalwell said in a statement on X.  '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.'  The congressman did not say whether he intends to keep his position on Capital Hill. The bombshell move comes after a woman who worked for two years for Swalwell claimed she had sexual encounters with him while he was her boss. She alleged that the married Swalwell raped her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent in 2019 and 2024. She was one of four women to make allegations against the aspiring governor. Swalwell dropped out of the race after 50 former members of his staff joined a growing chorus calling for him to resign from his position in Congress and drop out of the governor's race The congressman did not say whether he intends to keep his position on Capital Hill. Several Swalwell supporters have since renounced their endorsements of him and implored him to drop his bid to replace Gavin Newsom. Among the most high-profile voices was Speaker Emerita Pelosi. Democratic leadership, including Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar also issued a statement calling for an investigation into the allegations.  According to a spokesperson for Pelosi, she called for the 'extremely sensitive allegations' to be 'appropriately investigated.' 'The young woman who has made serious allegations against Congressman Swalwell must be respected and heard,' she said. This story is breaking. More to come.   No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.