A fundraising page for the U.S. representative’s gubernatorial campaign was posted on the Democratic platform ActBlue before being taken down Sunday.
Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign appears imminent — and not just because a fundraising page for his campaign was posted on the Democratic platform ActBlue before being taken down Sunday.
Allies have for weeks been circulating polling emphasizing his opening to run as a more moderate alternative to Katie Porter. The Bay Area representative has been making overtures to California labor and other interest groups regarding a run, a key step toward overcoming skepticism in Sacramento fueled by his poor presidential primary performance in 2019 and lack of roots in the state capital. And he spent election night not in Washington or his district, but at a local party event in Los Angeles.
Swalwell is slated to appear Thursday on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, spurring speculation that he will announce his campaign then and there.
Alex Padilla’s decision this month not to run for governor opened a path for Swalwell to be the only sitting member of Congress in a field that lacks a clear frontrunner.
And, best of all for Swalwell, the Trump administration targeted him with mortgage and tax fraud allegations late last week — just in time to use the president’s attacks in a campaign launch. Even before that, Swalwell’s involvement in impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, and the possibility that Trump might go after him if he ran for governor, was core to the theory of the case Swalwell’s allies were constructing for his campaign.
“Trump attacking him only helps him in nearly every possible way,” said one ally encouraging Swalwell to run who was granted anonymity to discuss the camp’s thinking.
There’s also urgency for Swalwell to get in soon. Unlike two other possible entrants, billionaires Rick Caruso and Tom Steyer, he isn’t wealthy and will need to raise money quickly to break through in a crowded field.
Meantime, he’s planning to have at least his second meeting on Wednesday with longshot Democratic contender Stephen J. Cloobeck, who told Playbook he’d consider backing Swalwell financially and otherwise if he gets in.
“I’m optimistic after meeting all the existing and past candidates that there may be a there there with Eric. He’s a Fighter and Protector,” Cloobeck said in a text message.