A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Congressman Eric Swalwell has suspended his bid for California governor after allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. While he denies the allegations, fellow Democrats have called for him to get out of the race - and some say he should resign from Congress altogether. We're joined now by Guy Marzorati of member station KQED in San Francisco. So, Guy, let's start with Eric Swalwell's statement from last night. What did he have to say?
GUY MARZORATI, BYLINE: Well, he said basically that he's, quote, "deeply sorry for the mistakes and judgment he's made in the past." He said he will continue to fight allegations that he's continuing to call false. He did not address those other calls that you mentioned for him to resign from his seat in Congress.
A MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, they have been growing over the weekend, for sure. What do we know about the allegations?
MARZORATI: Well, these were first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN - we should note, not independently confirmed by NPR. But a former Swalwell staffer told both of those outlets that he had sexually assaulted her on two occasions. The staffer also detailed behavior from Swalwell similar to what other accusers told CNN - that he'd made sexual advances, that he had sent explicit photos over Snapchat, and Swalwell released a video on Friday night denying that he ever committed sexual assault. But I think it's worth noting that video did not explicitly deny sexual relationships. It did not explicitly deny inappropriate behavior with staff members that were working for him. Here's some of what Swalwell said Friday.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ERIC SWALWELL: I do not suggest to you in any way that I'm perfect or that I'm a saint. I've certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past. But those mistakes are between me and my wife.
MARZORATI: But the pressure on Swalwell just kind of kept mounting over the weekend - some fellow Democrats calling for Swalwell to be expelled from the House. And then you also had prosecutors in New York and in California asking people to come forward if they had any information about the assault allegations.
A MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, he started losing supporters almost immediately.
MARZORATI: That's right. It was a mass exodus of support on Friday and over the weekend. That included California Senator Adam Schiff, who was a top supporter, Congressman Jimmy Gomez, who'd been Swalwell's campaign cochair. You also had Swalwell's senior staff on his campaign and from his House office both denouncing him. And then, as you know, A, this is especially noteworthy in the very expensive world of California politics, the groups that were spending millions to get Swalwell elected - the California Medical Association, Uber - they said they're going to be pulling the plug on the financial support for his campaign.
A MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, those are two of the big spenders in California. So the governor's race, where does that stand now?
MARZORATI: Well, it's up for grabs, and there's less than two months until the primary election. I think now with Swalwell out, the most likely landing spots for his supporters are the other two top polling Democrats in the race, which is Katie Porter, former Congress member, and investor Tom Steyer - although who knows at this point? His exit maybe could open the door for another Democrat to gain momentum. One thing to note is in California, Democrats and Republicans appear on the ballot together in the primary. The top two finishers - regardless of party - go on to the general election.
So there have been a lot of concerns and fears among Democrats that there's so many Democrats on the ballot, they could split the vote - two Republicans could make it into the general election. I now think one, now that Donald Trump has weighed in on this race, endorsed Republican Steve Hilton, you may see a consolidating of the GOP vote. And now with Swalwell out, I think all of that is less likely for two Republicans to make it to the general just 'cause there's now one less Democrat to split the vote at the top of the polls.
A MARTÍNEZ: That's reporter Guy Marzorati from member station, KQED. Guy, thanks a lot.
MARZORATI: Thanks, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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