Rep. Eric Swalwell announced on Sunday, April 12, that he is suspending his campaign for California governor after several women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct.
"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. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made - but that's my fight, not a campaign's," the Democratic congressman said in a statement on X.
The announcement comes after several prominent Democrats withdrew their support for the congressman and called on Swalwell, the leading Democratic frontrunner in the polls, to drop out of California's gubernatorial race. Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN reported that a woman who previously worked in Swalwell's district office accused him of two non-consensual sexual encounters.
CNN also reported that three other women made sexual misconduct allegations against Swalwell. He has repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them "absolutely false" and vowing to fight them.
Swalwell, 45, was first elected to Congress in 2012, representing a northern California district just outside of Oakland, California, where he was a prosecutor in Alameda County. He was also a long-shot candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries before dropping out and endorsing the eventual winner, Joe Biden.
