Eric Swalwell, a Democratic representative, announced on Thursday that he was running for governor in the state of California, USA. The candidates in the race are looking to succeed Govenor Gavin Newsom.
The congressman announced his gubernatorial candidacy on the late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! In a post on X, Swalwell said, “California needs a fighter and protector.”
In his first campaign video, Swalwell says that the next California governor’s job is to “keep the worst president in our history out of our homes, out of our streets, and out of our lives ” and “bring a new California.”
On his website, he says that one of his goals will be to take on US President Donald Trump and lead the democrats' efforts to investigate January 6. “Our state is under attack. The President has militarized our streets, canceled cancer research, zeroed out clean energy climate projects, and is chasing our immigrant friends and neighbors through their workplaces, kids' schools, and houses of worship," he says on the site.
The California gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026.
About two dozen candidates have already announced they are running for the primaries. Several have also dropped out. Former vice president Kamala Harris, a former Califronia senator, said that she was not running for governor.
Others who have left include Laphonza Romanique Butler, Matthew William Mahan, Alex Padilla, and Adam Schiff.
Prominent candidates currently include former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, and former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
Newsom, who was elected in 2018, is term-limited.
In his biography, he says that he was raised by two Republicans in Dublin, California, and was the first in his family to go to college.
Swalwell currently serves on The House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committee.
During Donald Trump's first term, he became a key figure opposing the president as a member of the House Intelligence committee. He was removed from the committee along with Adam Schiff after Republicans took control of the U.S. House in 2023.
Swalwell had also advocated for gun control after making a brief run for president in 2019.