California Dems wanted a smaller field for governor. Mission accomplished | Opinion
The leaders of the California Democratic Party, who have been longing for candidates for governor to get out of the race, have finally gotten their wish, just in the most embarrassing way possible.
The rise and sudden, shocking downfall of Eric Swalwell leaves the party and this wide-open race in complete disarray. If the Democrats were yearning for a more orderly coronation, they have sown chaos instead.
At first defiant and vowing to press on, Swalwell did the inevitable Sunday in the wake of multiple women accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct. With many of his major supporters withdrawing endorsements and his staff jumping ship, Swalwell’s decision to retreat from the race was a foregone conclusion.
Swalwell was consistently among the leading Democrats in recent polls, with many Californians still undecided. Swalwell’s campaign suspension will fundamentally reshape the math of this race in ways that are impossible to immediately predict. What’s clear now is how he and his party have gotten themselves into this historic mess.
Swalwell joins an all-too-long list of Congress members who got used to flying under the radar in Washington with their bad behavior and seemingly believing a sordid past would stay in the shadows while pursuing a higher office.
Swalwell’s many accusers did not come forward while he was merely pursuing re-election. Nor did the media or adversaries unearth the events in a more timely fashion.
It was only when Swalwell pursued California’s highest office, and when he began to ascend above his rivals and gain key endorsements, that these accusations began to surface. Imagine if these women had stayed silent until Swalwell, this June, had secured himself a slot in the November runoff. Talk about chaos.
Young and handsome and brimming with confidence and bravado, Swalwell was honing a persona similar to that of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Swalwell’s candidacy was beginning to feel like a sequel to Newsom’s own script.
But then Swalwell’s alleged behavior toward women finally caught up to him. And it was over.
Suddenly, on display was not only Swalwell’s judgment, but also that of all those who supported and believed he was for real. From U.S. Senator Adam Schiff to local Sacramento Rep. Doris Matsui, who had once endorsed Swalwell, they had all been played.
Whispers of misconduct have hung over Swalwell’s candidacy from the beginning. Any leading California Democrat would have buried his or her head in the sand to not be aware of them. There has always been a risk championing someone with such a fertile rumor mill.
Yet when the party higher-ups began to worry that there were too many Democrats running for office, the apparatus seemed to suggest that some of the lower-polling candidates should leave the race, all who happened to be people of color or women or both. The unprecedented solution of the party was to begin conducting and releasing polls of the race, starting in March.
Instead of a pollster, the party should have hired a detective.
If Swalwell’s supporters spread themselves so far and wide that Republican candidates Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton garner the most votes in June, the Democrats will only have themselves to blame. The party leaders thought the wrong candidates were the problem, focusing on the bottom of the polls rather than on the top. And they didn’t figure out the error of their ways until it was perhaps too late.
Voters will likely save the Democratic Party from itself and pick a candidate who reflects the mainstream of the state. That is because Swalwell’s departure has done something that only a scandal can achieve.
Suddenly, California is interested in the governor’s race. And the candidates who have behaved during their careers have a fresh chance to make their case.
This story was originally published April 12, 2026 at 5:53 PM.