Eric Swalwell, candidate for California governor, denies sexual assault allegations

By Daniel Trotta

April 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat and a leading candidate for governor of the state, on Friday flatly denied accusations of sexual assault by a former congressional staffer as "absolutely false."

He vowed to fight the allegations in a post on X, while apologizing to his wife for unspecified "mistakes in judgment in my past."

Several leading Democratic politicians responded to the accounts of sexual assault by urging Swalwell to end his campaign for governor. Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the Democrats in the House, called for an investigation.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Friday that a woman who previously worked in Swalwell’s district office accused him of two nonconsensual sexual encounters, one while she was employed by him in 2019 and another in 2024 after she had left his staff.

The woman, whom the newspaper did not name, was quoted as saying she had been too intoxicated on both occasions to consent, according to the report.

The former staffer later told CNN that Swalwell had raped her during the later encounter, which Swalwell strongly denied.

“I was pushing him off of me, saying no,” the woman told CNN on camera but in shadow to disguise her appearance. When asked how he responded, the woman said, "He didn’t stop.”

Swalwell denied the assertions.

"These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened," Swalwell said in a video post. "I will fight them with everything that I have."

He noted that the allegations come ahead of the June primary in the governor's race, saying he was the frontrunner.

"For over 20 years, I have served the public as a city councilman, as a member of Congress and as a prosecutor who went to court on behalf of victims, particularly on behalf of sexual assault victims," Swalwell said.

He said he was not a "saint" and that he had "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."

The accusations have jolted the campaign.

U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, another nationally prominent Democrat, withdrew his endorsement and urged Swalwell to leave the race. The California Teachers Association, the largest teachers’ union in the state, suspended its support. The House Democratic leadership, including Jeffries, said Swalwell should "immediately end his campaign."

In a large field of candidates from multiple parties, Swalwell has been widely considered one of the leading contenders to advance to a runoff in California's nonpartisan voting for governor. The top two finishers in June's primary will advance to the general election in November, even if they are from the same party.