Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California), who served as a manager on the 2021 impeachment case against President Donald Trump, announced on Thursday night that he’s running for governor of California.
Swalwell, who has served in Congress since 2013, has made his resistance to the president a calling card, appearing frequently on cable news to criticize his actions and recently referringto himself as “the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade.”
Swalwell has said that he — like several other adversaries of the president — is being investigatedfor mortgage fraud by the Trump administration in retaliation for his outspoken criticism. Swalwell has denied allegations of fraud.
Swalwell announced his run on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” the late-night program Disney briefly took off the air earlier this year following conservative backlash to comments Kimmel made on air in the wake of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk’s death.
“The president’s not going to like this show,” Swalwell joked before telling the audience, “I came here tonight, Jimmy, to tell you and your audience that I’m running to be the next governor of California.”
In a video kicking off his campaign, Swalwell, who represents a district in Northern California’s East Bay, outlined two major pillars of his campaign: being a bulwark against Trump and making the state more affordable.
The next governor, Swalwell said in the video, must “keep the worst president in our history out of our homes, out of our streets and out of our lives,” adding, “No one will keep Californians safer than I will.”
“[Former House speaker] Nancy Pelosi selected me for the intelligence committee and to help lead the impeachment of a corrupt president. Californians will never bend the knee,” Swalwell says in the video, which cuts images of Trump with clips of Swalwell speaking to “No Kings” protesters.
On affordability, Swalwell says in the ad, “California is the fourth largest economy in the world. So shouldn’t we be a state where you can take your first job, have your first kid and buy your first home in the same decade?”
Swalwell is joining a crowded race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who cannot seek reelection because he is term-limited.
While some prominent Democrats, such as Sen. Alex Padilla (California) and former vice president Kamala Harris, have declined to run for the seat, several others are vying for the position.
Earlier this week, billionaire Democratic megadonor Tom Steyer announcedhis campaign. Other Democratic names in the mix include former congresswoman Katie Porter, former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former health and human services secretary Xavier Becerra. Republicans in the running include Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host; and Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County.
None of the gubernatorial candidates, so far, holds a commanding lead.
In Congress, Swalwell has held coveted committee assignments on the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees. He was also named a manager of Trump’s second impeachment, which focused on the events surrounding the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
In 2021, Swalwell filed a lawsuit against Trump and his allies, claimingthey should be held liable for injuries and destruction caused by their incitement of the Jan. 6 mob assault on the Capitol. The case is pending in federal court.
Swalwell ran for president in the Democratic primary in 2019 but dropped out a few months into the race after he didn’t gain traction for his bid. Before joining Congress, he was a city council member in Dublin, California and a deputy district attorney in Alameda County.
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