Newsom sets August special election for Swalwell’s seat
Gov. Gavin Newsom set an Aug. 18 special election for the U.S. House of Representatives seat left empty by Eric Swalwell’s resignation in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct and rape.
The August special election will be preceded by a June 16 primary, according to Newsom’s spokesperson.
Swalwell announced he would step down from his seat Monday afternoon, a day after abandoning his campaign to be California’s next governor — a race in which he was increasingly emerging as the frontrunner of a crowded Democratic primary. His downfall came after The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN reported on allegations of an unidentified woman who said Swalwell had sexually assaulted her twice.
Swalwell has rejected any allegations of criminal behavior, though in announcing his resignation from office the former congressman apologized for “mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.”
He made his resignation official in a letter to Newsom and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Tuesday afternoon.
Other women have accused Swalwell of leveraging his political position to make unwanted sexual advances including sending unsolicited nude photographs and sexual texts. On Tuesday, just hours before Newsom’s announcement, Beverley Hills resident Lonna Drewes accused Swalwell of drugging and raping her following a 2018 event.
Swalwell’s campaign for governor had already led to a competitive primary election for his seat ahead of November’s midterm election. There are six Democrats, two Republicans and one person with no party preference in that race, according to the California Secretary of State’s list of certified candidates.
California law does not require Newsom to call an election when a vacancy occurs this late in an election year. But Swalwell’s district is staunchly Democratic leaning, and Newsom’s decision to call one is likely to quickly send a new Democratic representative to Washington D.C. Meanwhile, the resignation of Texas Republican Tony Gonzales, if he is not quickly replaced, could further wear down Republican’s slim majority in the House of Representatives.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has the ability to quickly hold an emergency special election under that state’s laws, according to reporting by Bloomberg Government. But Republicans have struggled in elections, even in conservative-leaning ones like Gonzales’s, during Trump’s second term, making that party’s hold on the seat slightly more tenuous than Democrats’ hold on Swalwell’s.
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 4:23 PM.
