The race to succeed termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom remains wide open less than seven months before the June primary. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla both passed on running, and the special election over Proposition 50 diverted attention and fundraising away from the campaign for governor.
A poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies this month found 44% of voters remain undecided.
Swalwell’s views on state policy are largely undefined, and he enters the race with far less experience in the state Capitol than fellow Democratic hopefuls Xavier Becerra, the former attorney general, and Antonio Villaraigosa, who served as Assembly speaker before he was mayor of Los Angeles.
But Swalwell’s clashes with Trump and Republicans in Washington could resonate with Democratic voters looking for California leaders to spearhead a resistance to the White House.
When the House voted to impeach Trump in 2021 for inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Swalwell was tapped by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to help present the case to the Senate as an impeachment manager.
After Trump was acquitted, Swalwell sued him in civil court, arguing that the president fomented an attack that violated his civil rights and caused emotional distress. That lawsuit is ongoing in the U.S. District Court in Washington.
Last week, a top housing official in the Trump administration called for a criminal probe into Swalwell, alleging the congressman may have made false or misleading statements on mortgage documents to secure better loan terms. The accusations are similar to criminal referrals made against other Trump critics, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff of California.
Swalwell has denied wrongdoing and framed the move as political retaliation, telling Kimmel the charge was “nonsense.”
“If he thinks for one second that me, Schiff… Tish James are going to hide under the bed or shrink or just go quiet, we’re not,” Swalwell said.
Swalwell has denied wrongdoing and painted the move as political retaliation, describing himself in a statement as “the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade.”
