Rep. Eric Swalwell said Sunday he would withdraw from the California governor’s race in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct that led to a nearly immediate campaign collapse, as staffers quit and prominent Democratic supporters urged him to drop out.

“I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” he posted 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.”

Swalwell was long considered a top contender in a wide-open field with several prominent Democrats and two Republicans ahead of the state’s June 2 nonpartisan primary. But on Friday, his campaign was roiled when CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle published reports in which women accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct.

A former Swalwell staffer told CNN the congressman raped her when she was heavily intoxicated and left her bruised and bleeding. Swalwell has strongly denied the allegations.

“I was pushing him off of me, saying no,” the woman told CNN of the incident, which she said happened in 2024 in New York City after she had stopped working in Swalwell’s office. “He didn’t stop.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Saturday it is investigating the allegation of sexual assault the woman said took place in New York. The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office told CNN in a statement Saturday it is “evaluating whether any alleged criminal conduct occurred within” the Bay Area county, where the same woman accused Swalwell of a separate act of sexual misconduct she said took place in 2019.

Three other women who spoke with CNN also alleged various kinds of sexual misconduct by the Democratic congressman — including Swalwell sending them unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos. Swalwell has denied the women’s allegations.

Within hours of the reports on the allegations, key allies, including campaign chair Rep. Jimmy Gomez and Sens. Ruben Gallego and Adam Schiff, pulled their support almost immediately, with new statements denouncing Swalwell arriving in rapid succession. An independent expenditure group backing him announced it would shut down.

A governor’s race that was already drawing national attention was thrown further into flux. Among the top Democrats left are billionaire Tom Steyer, former Rep. Katie Porter, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff, and Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host endorsed by President Donald Trump, are the Republican contenders.

Mahan released a scathing statement in the wake of Swalwell’s announcement, writing that California deserved better.

“Eric Swalwell is done. Done abusing women. Done climbing the political ladder. Done,” Mahan wrote on X. “Exiting a race you should never have entered deserves no credit. It is an overdue acknowledgment of what the brave survivors who came forward already made clear: Eric Swalwell represented the worst of politics.”

It’s unclear whether Swalwell will remain in the US House until his term expires in January. Multiple Democrats on Sunday called on Swalwell to leave Congress.

“We should not tolerate this behavior,” Virginia Rep. Eugene Vindman told CNN on Sunday. “Rep. Eric Swalwell needs to go.”

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington said she would vote to expel both him and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, who is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over sexual misconduct allegations.

More than 50 former Swalwell staffers signed on to a letter earlier Sunday calling on him to drop out of the race and resign from Congress.

“The allegations reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN are serious, credible, and demand accountability,” the letter said. “We stand unequivocally with our colleague, who showed extraordinary courage in coming forward to share her truth. We believe her.” (CNN)

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