California Gubernatorial Hopeful Eric Swalwell Peddles Voting By Phone To ‘Max Out Democracy’
'We have to be better, not just a little bit better than the other states'
Eric Swalwell launches anti-Trump gubernatorial campaign amid criminal referral to DOJ
As more candidates throw their hats in the ring ahead of the 2026 midterms, yet another Democrat has joined the fray to succeed one of the most infamous governors in America.
Anti-Trump Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell announced on Thursday that he will be running for governor of California in 2026.
'I love California. It's the greatest country in the world.'
Swalwell, who spearheaded Trump's second impeachment, made the announcement on a segment of "Jimmy Kimmel Live," a show for which President Trump has repeatedly expressed his distaste.
Earlier this month, Trump's director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, sent a criminal referral for Swalwell to the Department of Justice, alleging that Swalwell may have committed mortgage fraud. Swalwell responded by claiming to be a victim of politically motivated prosecution.
"I refuse to live in fear in what was once the freest country in the world," he said.
"I will not stop speaking out against the president and speaking up for Californians."
RELATED: Eric Swalwell finally answers Chinese spy allegations: 'I would hope that would be enough'
Swalwell says California needs a "fighter and protector" on his X profile page.
"I'm ready to bring this fight home. So I came here tonight, Jimmy, to tell you and your audience that I'm running to be the next governor of California," Swalwell announced to Kimmel.
During his remarks, Swalwell also referred to California as a "country." "I love California," he said. "It's the greatest country in the world."
Even Kimmel appeared confused, repeating, "Country?!" followed by a laugh.
Kimmel joked that Swalwell will have to "figure out the beard," suggesting a full prospector look: "You're either going to have to go more beard or less beard, because you're in a beard nether region right now that we can't have."
Swalwell's campaign video starts by saying the governor of California will have two jobs: "One, keep the worst president in our history out of our homes, out of our streets, and out of our lives."
The second is to "bring us a new California," a variation of one of his campaign slogans.
Swalwell joins an already crowded gubernatorial race. Other Democrats include Rep. Katie Porter, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and state Superintendent Tony Thurmond.
Blaze News reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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Eric Swalwell offers melodramatic response to Trump DOJ probe: 'I refuse to live in fear'
California Rep. Eric Swalwell is the latest of several Democrats to come under fire from the Trump administration, this time for alleged mortgage fraud.
Swalwell was referred to President Donald Trump's Department of Justice for allegations of mortgage and tax fraud related to his residence in Washington, D.C.
The California Democrat is just one of four political adversaries the Trump administration has investigated. Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, and New York Attorney General Letitia James are also facing allegations of mortgage fraud.
'I will not end my lawsuit against him.'
Because of the Trump administration's string of legal cases against Democrats, Swalwell argues his referral was motivated purely by political purposes.
"As the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him, the only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me," Swalwell said in a statement Thursday.
RELATED: When I brought the truth to Congress, Democrats lost their minds
In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte alleged that there were several million dollars' worth of loans and refinancing based on Swalwell's declaration of his D.C. home as his primary residence.
Pulte also alleged that Swalwell may have made inaccurate or misleading statements in certain loan documents, prompting an investigation into potential mortgage fraud, state and local tax fraud, insurance fraud, and any other related crimes.
"Like James Comey and John Bolton, Adam Schiff and Lisa Cook, Letitia James and the dozens more to come — I refuse to live in fear in what was once the freest country in the world," Swalwell said.
RELATED: Eric Swalwell finally answers Chinese spy allegations: 'I would hope that would be enough'
"Of course, I will not end my lawsuit against him," Swalwell added. "And I will not stop speaking out against the president and speaking up for Californians."
"As Mark Twain said, 'Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.' Mr. President, do better. Be better."
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The Feds Are Rescuing Trafficked Children From L.A. While Useless Democrats Grumble
Elected officials in L.A. and California relentlessly assault reality, while the people they demean and demonize spend their days running down people who traffic children for sex.Eric Swalwell just had his own 'How do you do, fellow kids?' moment during profanity-laden radio interview
In an attempt to appear off-the-cuff on a hip radio show, Representative Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) swore and made inflammatory accusations against Republicans in order to connect with a younger audience.
Swalwell appeared on "The Breakfast Club," one of the biggest radio shows in New York City, which skews to the 18- to 24-year-old audience and has around eight million listeners per month, according to the L.A. Times. Swalwell did his best to relate to the youth, having his own version of the "How do you do, fellow kids?" meme, which included cursing and wearing a trucker hat.
'These motherf**kers are firing cancer doctors.'
Host Lenard McKelvey, aka Charlamagne, performed well, firing off questions that most network anchors dare not ask.
"Why should we ever trust the Democratic Party after they lied to us so long about President Biden?" Charlamagne asked the congressman. He added, "Democrats have tried every strategy except for two things: honesty and courage."
In response to that question, Swalwell seemingly initiated a Gen Z speech protocol to criticize his Republican counterparts.
"Well, there's a lot of people who are courageous right now in the Democratic Party. Our, 'dance with the one that brought you,' is health care," Swalwell claimed. He then made bold assertions about the GOP, accusing Republicans of being "for cancer."
"We're not only going to protect health care because I think protecting health care is not enough. We need to invest in cures, and these motherf**kers are firing cancer doctors."
RELATED: Eric Swalwell calls for escalation after fellow Democrat faces charges for allegedly assaulting ICE officer
The California politician then positioned Democrats as having a contrasting view of wanting cures for the disease, while stating Republicans actually support people having cancer.
"So we have a real clean contrast. We're for cures. They're for cancer. Right? Like, so, like, that's why you should trust us because 40% of Americans are going to get a phone call from a doctor to say, 'I'm sorry. You have cancer.' And so if it doesn't come to you, it's going to come to someone you know."
The 44-year-old added, "And so you want the party that believes in your health care and that you have a right to fight it and not go broke."
RELATED: US bans government employees from having romantic relations with Chinese people in China
Gabriel Victal, an editor for conservative content creators like Bodittle, told Blaze News Swalwell seemingly has no qualms about using "deceptive tactics" to gaslight voters.
"Using cancer against uneducated voters is an insane thing to do. Most Republicans today and most Democrats of past were rightfully skeptical of the pharmaceutical industry, but it seems a lot of liberals of today defend it like it's a religion."
While Victal said Charlamagne has done well in platforming some voices he disagrees with, he has still "proven time and time again that he will also platform people who have terrible takes, like Eric Swalwell."
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Eric Swalwell calls for escalation after fellow Democrat faces charges for allegedly assaulting ICE officer
Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.) called for other lawmakers to "go one rung higher" after his colleague Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey was charged for allegedly assaulting an officer at an ICE detention center.
Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, announced the charges against McIver on Monday, saying she "assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement." Although McIver can be seen apparently shoving law enforcement on camera, she maintains that the charges against her are "purely political."
'We must take whatever we’ve done before to show dissent and go ONE RUNG HIGHER.'
RELATED: Democrat congresswoman will be charged for allegedly assaulting ICE officer, Alina Habba says
"A RED LINE has been crossed," Swalwell said in a Monday post on X. "Trump is prosecuting his political enemies in Congress. This is just the beginning."
"We must take whatever we’ve done before to show dissent and go ONE RUNG HIGHER," Swalwell added. "And save your bulls*** documents on this, Alina. You’ll need them when you testify."
McIver has gained the sympathy of many of her Democratic colleagues, not just Swalwell. Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Texas went to bat for the congresswoman, claiming that the charges are just meant to "suppress dissent."
"This unprecedented move shows how far this authoritarian administration will go to suppress dissent," Frost said. "They’re charging a member of Congress with a CRIME for conducting oversight on an ICE facility. We will NOT be scared into submission. I stand with Rep. McIver."
RELATED: Trump pressures House Republican holdouts as reconciliation talks intensify
President Donald Trump and his administration maintain that the charges are not political but rather a deserved consequence.
“Give me a break. Did you see her?" Trump said. "She was out of control! She was shoving federal agents. The days of that crap are over! We’re going to have law and order!”
"No one is above the law," Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said. "If any person, regardless of political party, influence or status, assaults a law enforcement officer as we witnessed Congresswoman McIver do, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We thank our brave ICE law enforcement officers for their service to this great nation."
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