Nationally recognized and now disgraced politician Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress after sexual assault allegations were made by multiple women.
Swalwell represented the 14th district, which includes Hayward, Union City and parts of San Leandro and Fremont. His congressional seat became vacant on April 14, 2026. The frontrunner of the California gubernatorial race suspended his campaign the next day.
The accusations started surfacing on April 10, when the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a former staffer said she was allegedly sexually assaulted twice by Swalwell. The second time happened in 2024, where she said he allegedly raped her.
The former congressman responded to the allegations on a social media post. “These allegations of sexual assault are flat, false. They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have,” he said in a video. Swalwell went on to vaguely suggest he has had extramarital affairs in the past, and called them “mistakes in judgement.”
Mulitple news outlets report a second rape accusation came from a woman named Lonna Drewes, who said she was allegedly raped by Swalwell at his West Hollywood hotel room. Drewes said she only had one drink and believes Swalwell drugged her.
CNN reported more women had accusations against Swalwell. Accusations included sexual misconduct, where Swalwell allegedly sent nude images of himself to a woman who wanted to professionally connect with him on Snapchat, a social media app where messages get deleted after they are read.
On April 13, Democratic candidate for California governor Matt Ortega, running for the next 14th congressional term, released a statement about the allegations.
“The bravery of those who came forward to tell their story must not be forgotten,” he said. “It takes courage to speak out against someone powerful, especially when that truth is deeply personal. We live in a time where the courage to speak truth to power is rare, and the powerful skate by with impunity.”
Ortega continued, “I am also thinking of those in my life who have endured the same pain but exhibited the same courage. They are among the strongest people I know.”
The vacant Congressional seat can only be filled through an election. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced there will be a special election on Aug. 18. This means voters residing in the 14th Congressional District will have four opportunities to vote for their representative.
The primaries for the seat-filler and a new congressional term for the district is on June 2 and June 16. The candidate who wins the election in November will be serving a brand new term.
Swalwell has had a long political career. He was elected into Congress in 2013 and served for 13 years. Swalwell used social media to gain a presence in the political world. He helped form the Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of Congress members that had an equal number of Democrats and Republicans who tried to solve issues together.
He was one of the Bay Area politicians who built a relationship with Christina Fang, a suspected Chinese spy. Swalwell also ran for president of the United States in 2019 and participated in an early presidential debate.
