Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell announced he is suspending his California governor’s race campaign after accusations made by a former staffer to the\u00a0San Francisco Chronicle<\/u><\/a>\u00a0that he sexually assaulted her, which the congressman has denied.<\/p>\n It comes amid a growing push from his party to not only get out of the race, but to resign from Congress.<\/p>\n “I am suspending my campaign for Governor. To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I\u2019ve made in my past,” Swalwell wrote in a post to X Sunday night.<\/p>\n “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made \u2014 but that\u2019s my fight, not a campaign\u2019s,” he wrote.<\/p>\n California gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell listens to a question from the audience during a town hall meeting in Sacramento, Calif., April 7, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Rich Pedroncelli\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The San Francisco Chronicle published the account of a woman, who it did not identify, who says she was hired at the age of 21 to work as an intern in Swalwell’s district office.<\/p>\n She claims Swalwell began pursuing her and sent her a nude photo. In 2019, she went out for drinks with Swalwell and woke up naked the next morning\u00a0in Swalwell’s hotel bed\u00a0and “felt the effect of vaginal intercourse,” according to the article.<\/p>\n The woman alleges that five years later at a gala in New York, when she was no longer working for him, Swalwell pursued her while she was inebriated and forced himself on her, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n ABC News has not independently verified these claims.<\/p>\n In a video posted to social media late Friday evening, Swalwell called the allegations “flat false. They’re absolutely false.”<\/p>\n “They did not happen. They have never happened, and I will fight them with everything that I have,” he said.<\/p>\n Swalwell did not address the allegations in detail in the video statement.<\/p>\n Fellow Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, also from California, called the allegations against Swalwell \u201csick and disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., told CNN’s “State of the Union,” “The accusations are absolutely heinous, and his admissions betraying his family are deplorable. So Eric Swalwell needs to resign. He needs to drop out of the race.\u201d<\/p>\n Vindman emphasized the need to hold leaders accountable, regardless of party or stature.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we have grown far too accustomed to having our senior leaders, our elected officials, uh, fall far below what we expect their behavior to be morally, ethically … And Representative Swalwell needs to go,\u201d Vindman said.<\/p>\n The top three House Democrats, including Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have called on Swalwell to end his bid for governor.<\/p>\n “Following the incredibly disturbing sexual assault accusations against Congressman Eric Swalwell, we call for a swift investigation into these incidents and for the Congressman to immediately end his campaign to be California’s next Governor,” Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said in a joint statement released Friday.<\/p>\n Pressed Sunday on whether Swalwell should resign, Jeffries told CNN’s Jeff Zeleny, \u201cOur statement for the moment speaks for itself. We\u2019ll reconvene in Washington early next week and we’ll have more to say.\u201d<\/p>\n In his Friday video, Swalwell said the allegations “come on the eve of an election where I have been the frontrunner candidate” and cited his career as a public servant and prosecutor who went to court for sexual assault victims, he said.<\/p>\n “I do not suggest to you in any way that I am perfect or that I am a saint,” he said. “I have 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.”<\/p>\n Fellow Democrats started calling for Swalwell to drop his gubernatorial campaign shortly after news of the allegations broke.<\/p>\n In a statement, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “This extremely sensitive matter must be appropriately investigated with full transparency and accountability. As I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, it is clear that is best done outside of a gubernatorial campaign.”<\/p>\n Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., who chaired Swalwell’s campaign for governor, announced that he was stepping down from the campaign and referred to the accusations as “the ugliest and most serious accusations imaginable.”<\/p>\n “I cannot in good conscience remain in any role with this campaign, and I am stepping down from it effective immediately,” Gomez said. “The congressman should leave the race now so there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction, or delay.”<\/p>\n Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, who had in recent days defended Swalwell from online rumors of misconduct, posted<\/a> Friday that he was withdrawing his endorsement and said that he “regret[s] having come to his defense on social media.”<\/p>\n Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also said he is pulling his endorsement “immediately” and called on Swalwell to withdraw.<\/p>\n Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said Saturday that she plans to force a vote next week to expel Swalwell if he does not resign.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/3d619147-5b39-4683-9378-e39b764fd6a1\/swalwell-02-ap-jt-260410_1775858196090_hpMain.jpg?w=375)
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/ba3d7f2f-5148-4f02-a5c1-dca695d1f04c\/swalwell-ap-jt-260410_1775858342260_hpMain.jpg?w=375)
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>