As Swalwell’s campaign unravels, his rivals in California governor’s race scramble for an opening

By Eric Bradner, Arit John, CNN

(CNN) — The sexual misconduct allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell are damaging his hopes of winning the California governor’s race, with former allies revoking their endorsements and a growing list of prominent Democrats telling him to withdraw.

Less clear is who can claim the support he had amassed — and how they will do so.

“Now it’s pretty much back to ground zero,” said Garry South, a longtime California Democratic strategist. “I don’t know how this works out.”

The accusations of sexual misconduct published Friday by CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle scrambled an already wide-open field featuring more than a half-dozen well-known Democrats and two Republicans who have built notable support ahead of the state’s June 2 jungle primary. Candidates in all parties are competing in that primary, and the top two finishers regardless of party will advance to the November general election.

The list of other potentially viable Democrats in the race includes billionaire activist Tom Steyer, who has blanketed the television airwaves by pumping at least $110 million into advertising; progressive former Rep. Katie Porter; former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra; former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan; California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; and former state controller Betty Yee.

“None of these candidates really have a lane,” South said.

Porter, he said, has not locked down the support of women. Villaraigosa and Becerra both are battling for Latino support. And Mahan has sought to offer himself as a more moderate alternative to outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s management of the state but has not broken out.

Steyer is wearing out his welcome with television ads, South said. But none of the other candidates have enough money to even compete in the advertising war.

“I’m sure that there are conversations going on in these other camps about, ‘How do we take advantage of the Swalwell self-immolation?’ But in order to make that case for themselves, they have to have money, and none of them do,” South said.

Becerra, the former California congressman and state attorney general who also served in President Joe Biden’s administration, told CNN it’s “a new day” in the governor’s race. Becerra said he and his team had expected the race would be shaken up in some way. Now, he said, the “shaking has occurred,” and voters will soon begin to pay more attention.

“The race is wide open,” he said in an interview. “Today is Day 1 of that new race, and we all move forward.”

The deadline to enter the race passed in March, so the field is set and ballots will be mailed to voters starting in May.

Becerra took light jabs at some of the other candidates in the race. He said he plans to run on his record in the roles he has held, not “inflated promises.” He said that his campaign waited to air its first ad until a few weeks ago because they don’t have “billions of dollars to spend,” a poke at Steyer.

“I am not the richest candidate. I’m not the slickest candidate,” he said. “But I’m the most experienced candidate.”

Polls have shown that Republican Steve Hilton, buoyed by an endorsement from President Donald Trump and a much shorter list of intra-party rivals, is well positioned to claim one of the top two spots. Democrats had long feared that a fractured field would give the race’s other prominent Republican, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, an opening to grab the second spot.

For now, with Swalwell still in the race, many Democrats are seeking to nudge him out but otherwise holding their fire.

At the Democratic National Committee’s spring meeting in New Orleans, 15 members of the California delegation quickly drafted a statement Friday to show support for the people who reported misconduct by Swalwell.

“The severity of these allegations demands accountability, and our state must hold the highest standards of leadership. We must ensure the trust of women and safety of staff and the public,” the statement reads. “For the good of that trust — and the integrity of our party and the Office of the Governor — we call on Congressman Swalwell to withdraw from the race for Governor.”

Michael Kapp, the California DNC member who organized the statement, said in a text that the group hadn’t discussed backing another candidate. And one far-fetched possibility — a last-minute write-in campaign featuring another candidate — he said would risk splitting the Democratic vote even further and increase the possibility of two Republicans making it into the top two.

Upcoming debates — one on April 22 and one hosted by CNN on May 5 — could prove to be pivotal as the candidates look for ways to stand out.

‘None of these candidates really have a lane’

Swalwell had seemed to gain traction in recent weeks, in part thanks to his reputation as a brawler against President Donald Trump in an overwhelmingly blue state. That was boosted by attacks from Trump himself, as well as what The Washington Post reported was FBI Director Kash Patel’s push to release files from the investigation over Swalwell’s association with the woman at the center of a suspected political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015.

Prominent California strategists in both parties argued it won’t be easy for any of those candidates to stake a claim on Swalwell’s support.

“Eric did have a lane, but it’s not a traditional lane. The lane was, he was the most anti-Trump candidate,” said Republican strategist Mike Madrid. “It was Trump himself who called him out and was attacking him. That’s why he was beginning to coalesce. That’s not going to happen now.”

One possibility, as Democrats seek to prevent the party from being shut out of the general election, is that Newsom, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff could work together to endorse and rally support for one candidate.

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