Sacramento, CA — Some notable happenings related to the California governor’s race occurred over the weekend.
After receiving pressure from leading Democrats, Congressman Eric Swalwell, one of the frontrunners, suspended his campaign. He lost several endorsements and received calls to exit after news outlets reported allegations about him sexually assaulting a former staffer twice. Four women, total, have now come forward with related allegations against the sitting Congressman.
Prior to Swalwell’s Sunday announcement, 31 county democratic chairs in California called for Swalwell to withdraw from the race. The list included Tuolumne County Democratic Party Chair Mat Galvan.
The group put out a statement calling the allegations “deeply disturbing,” and acknowledged the “brave women” who came forward, adding, “As leaders of county Democratic Parties, we are committed to creating safe spaces in our Party free of sexual harassment, intimidation, or abuse. We expect our candidates to set the standard of appropriate conduct, and we need candidates to be focused on our common cause of electing a Democratic Governor who will fight for Democratic values and to govern our state with integrity, strength, and grace.”
Swalwell also lost endorsements from California Senator Adam Schiff, the California Teachers Union, and many others.
In other news surrounding the Governor’s race, at its party convention held over the weekend in San Diego, Republicans chose not to endorse a candidate for governor. The top two leading in polling are Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton.
Hilton was recently endorsed by President Donald Trump. The party faithful split their vote pretty evenly between the two, so no endorsement could be made. The final tally was 49% for Bianco and 44% for Hilton. 60% was required for an endorsement.
Hilton has been leading in fundraising so far, bringing in $6.6 million, compared to Bianco’s $2 million.
The primary election is coming up on June 2.
