The Manhattan district attorney’s office is opening an investigation into Representative Eric Swalwell of California, a candidate for governor, a day after multiple women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct in published news reports.
In separate articles, published within hours of one another, The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN reported on women who said they were victims of Mr. Swalwell, a Democrat who had been a leading contender in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a statement on Saturday that it was urging “survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations” to contact its Special Victims Division. “Our specially trained prosecutors, investigators, and counselors are well-equipped to help you in a trauma-informed, survivor-centered manner.”
One of the allegations against Mr. Swalwell took place in New York City. According to The Chronicle, a former staffer of Mr. Swalwell’s alleged that he sexually assaulted her in a New York hotel room after an awards event in 2024 when she had been heavily intoxicated and as she tried to refuse him.
The woman was not named by the newspaper, but appeared to be the same person CNN included in a report that also had three other women accusing Mr. Swalwell of a range of misconduct. CNN’s report also described allegations from a Democratic activist who said Mr. Swalwell had touched her thigh and tried to kiss her in the booth of a bar before bringing her to his hotel room, and from two women who said he had sent them unsolicited photos of his penis.
The New York Times has not confirmed the accusations of sexual assault.
Ally Sammarco, who was named in the CNN report, spoke to The Times and said Mr. Swalwell had sent her inappropriate messages on Snapchat in 2021, including unsolicited nude images.
On Friday, Elias Dabaie, Mr. Swalwell’s lawyer, said the allegations appeared to be a “coordinated effort to undermine his candidacy.”
“We believe those allegations are baseless and continue to seek the truth,” Mr. Dabaie wrote in an email to The Times.
Attempts to reach Mr. Swalwell’s campaign and press office on Saturday were not immediately returned.
Not long ago, it seemed like Mr. Swalwell’s path to the governorship had begun to materialize. With the nonpartisan primary looming, he had begun to gain traction in a crowded field.
The California governor primary involves all candidates competing for two spots in the general election, regardless of party. There are eight prominent Democrats and two well-known Republicans competing to replace Mr. Newsom, who is term-limited. If Mr. Swalwell were to drop out, the race would become scrambled. Ballots are set to be mailed to voters in less than a month for the June 2 primary.
Now, with accusations of sexual misconduct mounting, his biggest Democratic supporters deserting his cause, calls for his resignation from the House percolating and a criminal investigation in the works, Mr. Swalwell’s campaign appears to be in free fall.
“There’s a fork firmly implanted in him,” said Steven Maviglio, a Democratic strategist in California. “It’s over.”
Mr. Swalwell has vigorously denied the accusations and said that he would continue to fight them.
“These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor,” he said in a statement Friday. “For nearly 20 years, I have served the public — as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action.”
Shortly after the allegations surfaced, senior officials quit Mr. Swalwell’s campaign, key Democratic supporters abandoned him and powerful interest groups and labor unions retracted their endorsements. Both chairmen of his campaign, Representative Jimmy Gomez and Representative Adam Gray, said they were stepping down and called on Mr. Swalwell to withdraw from the race.
In a written statement provided to The Times on Saturday by a senior staffer and a former volunteer, senior staff in Mr. Swalwell’s congressional office and his campaign for governor said they found the behavior detailed in the allegations “abhorrent” and “beneath the dignity of those serving in public office.” They said they stand with the former staffer who accused Mr. Swalwell, as well as the other women who came forward.
The group, which signed the statement “senior staff,” added that any staff member’s decision to remain in their position should not be viewed as an expression of support for Mr. Swalwell.
“We, more than he, understand that we have obligations to the people we lead and to the constituents of California’s 14th Congressional District,” the staffers said in their statement.
Several of Mr. Swalwell’s opponents in the primary — including the Democrats Katie Porter, a former congresswoman, and Tom Steyer, a San Francisco billionaire — have gone one step further, calling for Mr. Swalwell to resign from Congress. Representative Anna Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida, said she plans to file a motion to expel Mr. Swalwell from the House.
Democrats in Congress have so far not widely echoed the calls for Mr. Swalwell’s ouster from the House, though several, including the minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, have demanded he terminate his campaign for governor. So has former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a titanic figure in California politics.
On Friday, the endorsements page of Mr. Swalwell’s campaign website appeared to have been removed. The page had previously listed the names of dozens of individuals and organizations, including some, like Senator Adam Schiff of California and the California Teachers Association, who have since rescinded their support.
Among the powerful organizations that have publicly withdrawn support for Mr. Swalwell are the California wing of the Service Employees International Union, one of the country’s largest labor unions, and the California Teachers Association, the state’s most influential teachers’ union.
One of the latest sponsors to drop Swalwell as of Saturday afternoon was California Professional Firefighters, a statewide firefighters’ union. In a statement, the union said its executive board had convened and decided to withdraw its endorsement in light of the allegations.
Future Swalwell campaign fund-raisers were also cast in doubt. The Swalwell campaign canceled an event scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles’s Brentwood neighborhood, according to an email from one of the hosts of the event, which was shared with The New York Times by a recipient. A second Los Angeles fund-raiser, set for later this month, was “postponed until further notice,” The Times reported Friday.
Mr. Swalwell, 45, was elected to Congress in 2012, defeating an 80-year-old Democratic incumbent in a campaign that highlighted generational change. He represents a suburban district east of San Francisco, and is known for his aggressive presence on cable news and a brief presidential run in 2019. He is married with three children.
In a video released Friday night, Mr. Swalwell insisted the sexual assault allegations were false but apologized to his wife.
“I do not suggest to you in any way that I’m perfect or that I’m 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.”
Claire Fahy, Tim Balk, Theodore Schleifer and Jonathan Wolfe contributed reporting.
Chris Hippensteel is a reporter covering breaking news and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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