Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) lost the last of the 21 endorsements he had from fellow Democratic members of Congress on Saturday as Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) rescinded her support for his gubernatorial campaign.
Why it matters: It's a stunning reversal of political fortunes in just 24 hours. Swalwell was among the frontrunners in the race, but his campaign is in free fall due to allegations of rape, sexual assault and misconduct, which he denies.
- His page on the Democratic fundraising website ActBlue and the endorsement tab on his website have been pulled down, his ad buys are being pulled back, at least one fundraiser has been scrapped, and he is reportedly hemorrhaging staff.
- It doesn't end there: Swalwell is under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) plans to force a vote to expel him from Congress.
- Swalwell said in a video posted to social media Friday: "These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They are absolutely false. They did not happen, they never happened."
Driving the news: "The allegations of sexual assault against Eric Swalwell are deeply disturbing and disqualifying. I am retracting my endorsement of his candidacy for Governor," Grijalva wrote in a post on X.
- Reps. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) and Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) also rescinded their endorsements of Swalwell on Saturday.
- They joined Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and over a dozen other House Democrats who unendorsed Swalwell on Friday, with Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) resigning as a campaign chair.
- Several other endorsers, including multiple California state legislators and powerful labor unions, also retracted their support.
Between the lines: It's not just Swalwell's erstwhile endorsers calling for him to drop out of the race — party leaders are urging him to do so as well.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said in a joint statement that he should "immediately end his campaign."
- California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks said in a statement: "My call for all — repeat, all — candidates for Governor to 'honestly assess the viability of their candidacy and campaign' still stands. In fact, that call is more important now than ever before."
