Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell introduced Thursday he’ll enter the California gubernatorial race, becoming a member of a crowded discipline of candidates seeking to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Swalwell, a longtime adversary of President Donald Trump, introduced his run on his marketing campaign web site simply earlier than his look on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“I came here tonight, Jimmy, to tell you and your audience that I am running to be the next governor of California,” Swalwell stated.
“I will be California’s fighter and protector,” Swalwell stated in a statement on his web site. “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.”
No clear frontrunner has but taken a lead within the major. Swalwell’s entrance marks the most recent flip in a contest that has remained in fixed flux as politicians have declined to run, dropped out, or seen their campaigns marred in controversy.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California senator and lawyer common, introduced in late July that she wouldn’t run for governor. Former legislative chief Toni Atkins and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis left the race earlier this yr. And former Rep. Katie Porter’s marketing campaign faltered after movies of her getting upset throughout an interview and yelling at a staffer went viral.
Porter’s marketing campaign stumble created a window for Sen. Alex Padilla, a recognized entity who was elected statewide in 2022 after being appointed to the seat in 2020. But the senator handed on the seat in early November, stating that he was dedicated to persevering with his work within the Senate.
Other distinguished candidates embrace 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 first elected in 2018, is term-limited.
Swalwell rose to prominence throughout President Donald Trump’s first time period, when he turned a key antagonist of the president from his perch on the House Intelligence Committee. He, together with now-Senator Adam Schiff, was kicked off the committee when Republicans retook management of the US House in 2023.
The seven-term congressman additionally made a short run for president in 2019, on a platform centered on gun management and the celebration’s want for generational change.