By Jim Ellis — Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Governor
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Livermore/East San Francisco Bay Area) / Facebook photo
The Democrats are experiencing a bumpy ride in the open California Governor’s race, and the one scenario where a Republican could win the 2026 general election is now within the realm of possibility.
The electoral system is problematic for the Democrats in this particular race. In 2010, California voters passed a ballot proposition that transformed their partisan primary into a top two jungle qualifying election. All candidates are slotted on the same ballot and the top two finishers, regardless of political party affiliation and percentage attained, advance to the general election.
Several polls released during the past months have projected two Republicans, former Fox News television host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, running in first and second position because the Democratic vote was divided among so many contenders.
A total of 62 candidates will be on the California gubernatorial ballot including 24 Democrats, 13 Republicans, 19 under the No Party Preference label, and six more representing minor parties. Also keep in mind that each of California’s 58 counties conducts a random draw for ballot position.
Therefore, all 62 candidates will likely find themselves in a different ballot slot in each county, thus making the already confusing election even more so. And now there’s even another twist.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Livermore/East San Francisco Bay Area) — who had begun to coalesce key Democrats and certain allied groups around his candidacy and was generally running a close second in polling — has ended his candidacy. Not only that, but yesterday, he also resigned his US House seat.
Rep. Swalwell was beginning to become the Democratic candidate most likely to advance, though billionaire Tom Steyer was moving up the polling chart because he is spending so much money on campaign advertising. It is estimated that Steyer has already spent over $90 million of his own funds to advance his candidacy.
However, now Swalwell has found himself in trouble due to sexual harassment and assault accusations coming from former staff interns and ex-staff members. This, on top of the fact that several years ago he was engaged in an alleged affair with an associate who was later outed as a Chinese spy.
Swalwell suspended his gubernatorial campaign Sunday. “I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” Swalwell announced in a short statement on X. “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.” Swalwell’s campaign co-chair had resigned in the wake of the allegations, and top House Democrats had urged him to drop out of the race.
Click on the image above to see Rep. Swalwell’s post on X.
Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) called upon Swalwell to end his gubernatorial campaign as did House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), a co-chair of the Swalwell for Governor campaign, withdrew his endorsement and support. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and California US Reps. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) and Adam Gray (D-Merced), along with Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego (D) also publicly withdrew their endorsements.
Additionally, the powerful California Teachers Association and a Super PAC formed to support Swalwell also had withdrawn their support, and several Swalwell staff members left the campaign.
The prominent Democrats must now find another candidate with enough political strength to block Hilton and Bianco from gaining both general election positions.
Additionally, since the California candidate filing deadline has long since passed, Rep. Swalwell does not have the option of running for re-election, so his withdrawal from the Governor’s race will likely end his political career.
The question now becomes, who will the establishment Democrats support? If the Democrats secure one of the general election positions, their candidate is virtually assured of winning in November; hence, the importance of the initial June election. Steyer has spent the most on his campaign, but he is not viewed as being a team player, so many of the aforementioned California Democratic Party leaders would probably prefer another option.
The only other Democrat who has earned double-digit support is former Orange County Congresswoman Katie Porter, but a profanity-laced video that was released early in the campaign halted her early momentum and her campaign has not returned to form.
The other recognized Democrats, but who so far have not established momentum, are: former Health and Human Services Secretary, ex-California Attorney General, and former Congressman Xavier Becerra, former State Controller Betty Yee, and ex-Los Angeles Mayor and former state Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa.
It will be interesting to see what action the Democratic leadership will now take to ensure at least one of their members qualifies for the general election. With Rep. Swalwell’s campaign having ended, the evolving race to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will continue to draw major national attention before the June 2 qualifying election.