Rep. Eric Swalwell jumps into California governor race with Kimmel announcement
Rep. Eric Swalwell, an East Bay congressman and leading Democratic bulldog against President Donald Trump, will run for California governor, he said Thursday evening.
Swalwell, 45, made his announcement on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The late-night show was temporarily pulled off the air earlier this year amidst White House pressure after Kimmel made a comment about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“I’m running for Governor because prices are too high and people are scared,” Swalwell wrote on a website launched Thursday after his announcement. Swalwell said he would “be California’s fighter and protector” and cited his record in congress of taking on Trump during two impeachment inquiries.
Trump took aim at Kimmel again Thursday, calling for ABC to pull his late-night show. The president also took issue with the network’s White House correspondent Mary Bruce after she asked a question during a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The contest to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom is picking up steam after recent scandals involving two of the major Democratic candidates, former Rep. Katie Porter and former Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
On Wednesday, billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer announced his own gubernatorial candidacy and pledged to take on the state’s political establishment and corporate interests in the Capitol.
The 2026 field also includes Democrats Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles Mayor; State Superintendent Tony Thurmond; former state Controller Betty Yee; ex-timeshare magnate Stephen Cloobeck and former Assemblyman Ian Calderon, as well as Republicans Chad Bianco, the Sheriff of Riverside County and former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
Rick Caruso, another billionaire, is also exploring a bid for either governor or Los Angeles mayor.
Swalwell has already earned a reputation as a Trump antagonist. He was a manager for the second impeachment trial during the final days of Trump’s first term in early 2021 and has frequently clashed with administration officials in congressional hearings.
He served eight years on the House Intelligence Committee, which held inquiries during the first impeachment attempt against Trump beginning in 2019 and investigated a link between Russian officials and Trump’s associates following the 2016 election. He and ranking member Adam Schiff, now a California senator, were removed from the committee in 2023 by then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The Bay Area congressman had a short-lived presidential run in 2019, which he abandoned after three months.
Swalwell has represented the East Bay Area in congress since 2013, after he defeated a 40-year incumbent. Before he was elected to Congress, Swalwell served a partial term on the Dublin City Council.
Before that, he worked as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County and as a Capitol Hill staffer in Washington.
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 10:27 PM.
