Eric Swalwell Announces Run for California Governor

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) announced Thursday night that he will join the crowded race to replace Golden State Gov. Gavin Newsom next year — eight days after he was hit with a federal criminal referral for alleged mortgage and tax fraud.

Swalwell, 45, announced his gubernatorial bid during an appearance on ABC late-night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” He has represented a Bay Area district in the House of Representatives since 2013, but has gained prominence as a critic of President Trump.

The congressman, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, told the San Francisco Chronicle ahead of his announcement that the next California governor should have two priorities.

“One, keep Trump out of our homes, streets and lives,” said Swalwell, adding that the second is to “write the story of a new California on lower prices, on business growth and modernizing the state.”

On Nov. 12, federal housing regulator Bill Pulte requested that Attorney General Pam Bondi investigate Swalwell for purported false statements surrounding his purchase of a $1.2 million Washington, DC home that he claimed as a primary residence.

A source familiar with the referral told The Post that the Democrat secured millions of dollars’ worth of loans and refinancing based on that declaration — which could constitute mortgage fraud, insurance fraud and state and local tax fraud, among other charges.

Swalwell, who has denied wrongdoing, is the fourth prominent official to be the subject of a criminal referral by Pulte, joining Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.

The probe into potential fraud is merely the latest controversy involving Swalwell, who was booted off the powerful House Intelligence Committee by then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in January 2023, following reports three years prior that a suspected Chinese spy had infiltrated the congressman’s campaign — and got close to him personally.

Fang Fang, also known as Christine Fang, was a purported honeytrap who entered the US from China as a college student in 2011 — but allegedly spent the next four years wooing state and federal lawmakers to potentially obtain sensitive government intelligence.

At least two mayors of midwestern US cities had a romantic or sexual relationship with Fang, a US intelligence official and a former elected official told Axios in 2020.

The FBI gave Swalwell a defensive briefing about how Fang, who worked as a bundler on his 2014 House campaign, was seducing politicians, causing him to cut off all contact with her in 2015.

“Eric Swalwell cannot get a security clearance in the public sector. Why would we ever give him a security clearance in the secrets to America? So, I will not allow him to be on Intel,” McCarthy told Fox News in November 2022.

Swalwell’s relationship with Fang later became the focus of a two-year probe by the House Ethics Committee.

The ethics panel closed the inquiry in May 2023 with no finding of fault, but cautioned Swalwell in a letter that “[m]embers should be conscious of the possibility that foreign governments may attempt to secure improper influence through gifts and other interactions.”

Swalwell is the 14th Democrat to formally join the race to replace Newsom, seen by many as a top contender for the White House in 2028. Other major candidates include Swalwell’s former House colleague Katie Porter, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, billionaire Tom Steyer, and ex-Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.