Eric Swalwell was so close to becoming that he was practically measuring the drapes.
And then, suddenly, it all came crashing down, thanks to his own egregious conduct.
Last night, after desperately trying to hang on, Swalwell suspended his campaign. He was delusional if he thought he could keep running. He finally faced the inevitable music.Â
The didn’t have much choice. His own party, led by Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Adam Schiff and Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, was demanding that he drop out of the race.Â
He was denying many of the specifics when it came to sexually abusing women on his staff, but his candidacy was clearly toast. His campaign chairman immediately resigned. The state teachers union withdrew its support. The service employees union suspended its campaign activities.
In a video Friday night, Swalwell seemed to soften his denials:
“I do not suggest to you in any way that Im perfect or that Im a saint. I have certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past, but those mistakes are between me and my wife and to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position.”
Nobodys buying that. When youre a public figure with three children, its not just between you and your spouse. Its also between you and the voters.
Why, knowing of the intense scrutiny a gubernatorial candidate faces, would Swalwell allegedly engage in sex with staffers, given the stark power imbalance between a member of Congress and starstruck young women?
When Swalwell says all this emerged to torpedo his frontrunner campaign â “these allegations are false” â he is probably right. But he put the target on his own back.
Actually, a bandwagon running on four flat tires may be the least of the candidates problems. The confirms that it has opened an investigation into some of the allegations, and openly invited “survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations” to get in touch with its special victims unit. Â
Whats more, both House and campaign staffers for Swalwell gave news outlets an unsigned letter saying theyre “horrified” by the allegations, calling them “abhorrent, beneath the dignity of those serving in public office,” which “betrays the trust of all Californians.” And one Republican representative, Anna Paulina Luna, is pushing for the House to expel him.
The media have clearly been driving the disclosures about the congressman, who represents the San Francisco area. One of the other two major Democratic candidates â former congresswoman Katie Porter or billionaire Tom Steyer â will inherit the frontrunners mantle.
In Californias “jungle primary,” the top two finishers make it to the fall ballot, regardless of party. President Trump has already endorsed former British politician and Fox News host Steve Hilton. But in the bluest of blue states, the Democratic candidate is virtually assured of winning.  Â
The San Francisco Chronicle conducted a series of interviews with a woman who said Swalwell had assaulted her twice when she was too drunk to consent, including one encounter when he was her boss.
The woman did not report the alleged assaults because she didnt think shed be believed, according to the Chronicle, which viewed texts that she sent to a friend at the time, and medical records showing she sought pregnancy and STD testing days after the alleged 2024 assault.   Â
CNN also reported on this woman, along with three others who accused Swalwell of various kinds of sexual misconduct. The woman was shown in shadow to protect her identity, and said she felt comfortable meeting Swalwell â after a 2019 drunken encounter â because she now had a partner and felt more confident:
“After that bar closed, we went to another, I went to the bathroom, and I dont remember anything after that⦠I remember the next day, I
