Eric Swalwell withdrew from the California governor's race due to rape and sexual assault allegations.

What we found

Supports. AP reports that Swalwell's most prominent supporters withdrew endorsements after sexual assault allegations, and PBS/AP and Politico report he suspended his campaign on April 12-13 following those allegations.[1][3][4]

Supports. BBC reports Swalwell quit the governor race amid sexual misconduct claims by four women, ranging from sexual harassment to rape, and quotes his post suspending the campaign.[5]

Supports. ABC7 reports that four women accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct with one accuser alleging rape, and that he withdrew after allies abandoned him.[6]

Supports. Reuters and LA Times (October 2026) confirm Swalwell dropped out of the governor race in April after the sexual assault accusations, and that the FBI is probing those allegations.[2][7]

Context. Swalwell has denied the allegations as false and says he will fight them; the allegations have not been adjudicated in these sources.[1][5][7]

Sources

7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 tier 2, 1 tier 1, 2 not rated

1. 1Allies yank support for Swalwell's California governor run after sexual assault allegationsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
2. 2FBI raids home of Eric Swalwell's billionaire donorreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
3. 3Swalwell exits California governor's race after assault ...pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
4. 4Swalwell suspends governor campaign amid sexual misconduct ...politico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
5. 5Eric Swalwell quits California governor race amid sexual ...bbc.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports, context
6. 6Eric Swalwell endorsements withdrawn in California governor race ...abc7ny.com · not rated · cited for: supports
7. 7FBI raids billionaire's Beverly Hills mansion in connection ...latimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context

Where this claim was made

Said in 1 published post

• VINCE · Oct 28, 2026“And they opened the blackmail file on the guy, and then suddenly there's all these rape and sexual assault allegations against him. He gets chased out of the race by the Democrats”Post →

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