California Knife Fight: These Democrats Are Vying for Swalwell’s Voters
For Eric Swalwell, a cable host saying “Trump” was like a Bat-Signal—he’d appear on CNN within minutes. But now the ubiquitous surrogate has resigned from office and suspended his gubernatorial campaign—blowing the California governor’s race wide open. One California campaign staffer told me that the state’s primary race had seemed “structurally locked.” The endorsements had been lined up; the ideological lanes had been mostly defined. But now that sexual assault allegations have sunk Swalwell’s candidacy and career, everything’s in flux. Some operatives say the allegations were shocking in their scale, but didn’t come entirely out of left field—rumors about Swalwell’s behavior had quietly circulated in political circles for years. Even so, his campaign’s sudden collapse has stranded a significant coalition: labor groups, donors, campaign staff, and a chunk of Democratic voters who had gravitated toward his anti-Trump persona. Every other California gubernatorial candidate is left to fight over the scraps, while voters and some political operatives have a dim view of the remaining field. One of them voiced their concerns in a phone conversation Tuesday, …




