Eric Swalwell’s financial contributions have quickly become a liability.
Once a promising figure in the Democratic Party, Eric Swalwell, a representative from California, generously contributed to political campaigns nationwide. However, after resigning from Congress due to allegations of sexual misconduct, many are trying to separate themselves from him.
Rebecca Cooke, aiming to win a pivotal House seat in Wisconsin, has rejected Swalwell’s support for her campaign. Similarly, Jordan Wood, running in Maine’s competitive 2nd District, and Roy Cooper, who is vying for a North Carolina Senate seat that could determine the chamber’s control, have distanced themselves from endorsements by Swalwell’s Remedy PAC.
A dozen Democrats involved in key Senate and House races have informed POLITICO of their intentions to redirect campaign contributions received from Swalwell and his PAC to charitable organizations.
The unease surrounding Swalwell arises as the Democratic Party struggles to address the sexual assault and misconduct claims that have ended his political career in the House and gubernatorial campaign. These accusations have sparked criminal and House ethics investigations and led to a Republican-driven effort to remove him from Congress.
Republicans are already capitalizing on Democratic candidates’ connections to Swalwell, criticizing them in public statements and on social media over his financial contributions in recent years.
Most of Swalwell’s contributions targeted battleground districts and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, according to a POLITICO review of federal campaign finance records. Remedy PAC has distributed a total of $26,500 to 23 Democratic candidates this cycle; in the 2024 cycle, it donated nearly $170,000 to more than 60 Democratic members and candidates.
Swalwell has also contributed over $2,000 to House members this cycle from his campaign account. While his team declined to comment, Swalwell has consistently promised to “fight” what he describes as “serious, false allegations” of sexual misconduct reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN.
In announcing his resignation, he stated, “I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.”
Cooke expressed on X her dismay over the allegations against Swalwell and is allocating the $5,000 received from his PAC across her 2024 and 2026 campaigns to five charities, including food pantries. Wood, who previously served as chief of staff to Katie Porter, another California gubernatorial contender, donated the $1,000 he received to a food bank.
Cooper’s campaign informed POLITICO that it donated the $1,000 from Remedy PAC to the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a leading Senate recruit, redirected the $1,000 he received to a domestic violence shelter, as confirmed by his campaign.
Other Democrats in competitive races who confirmed plans to donate Swalwell’s contributions include: Rep. Haley Stevens running for Senate in Michigan; Rep. Angie Craig pursuing a Senate seat in Minnesota; and Reps. Dan Goldman in New York, Yassamin Ansari in Arizona, George Whitesides, Derek Tran, Dave Min, and Adam Gray in California.
An increasing number of House members, including Craig and Ansari, have called for both Swalwell and Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who admitted to a relationship with a staffer who later died by suicide, to resign or be expelled from the chamber.
“There’s a larger pattern here. For too long, Washington politicians have abused their power and preyed on young staffers. I refuse to be silent. It must stop,” Craig said Monday.
Gray, once a co-chair of Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign, withdrew his support and urged Swalwell to exit the race after the allegations surfaced. Min and Tran initially supported Porter in the California governor’s race, and Swalwell had backed one of Min’s opponents in 2024.
Min stated he only recently became aware of the contribution to his campaign.
“Given the seriousness of the allegations made against him, I am not comfortable with this, so I have donated this contribution to Waymakers, an Orange County non-profit that assists survivors of sexual assault,” Min posted on X.
Swalwell’s political standing deteriorated rapidly following the allegations. Democratic leaders withdrew their support and encouraged him to withdraw. His congressional office and campaign staff issued an unsigned statement expressing their “horror” at the allegations. Subsequently, more than 50 former staffers called for his resignation and withdrawal from the governor’s race. By Sunday, he had left the race, and by Monday, he resigned from his seat.
Republicans aim to use Swalwell as a political weapon. The National Republican Congressional Committee informed POLITICO it is monitoring Democrats who have received contributions from Swalwell and maintains ties to him. The committee is pressing candidates who have yet to publicly address these contributions to return them.
NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella stated, “Every single vulnerable House Democrat must return the filthy creep cash or own the rot they’re protecting.”
The NRCC and Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), whom Cooke is challenging again, prodded Cooke over the weekend to return the donations. After she complied, Van Orden implied it was a move made for “political convenience.”
Van Orden criticized Cooke in a text message Monday, citing local conservative media coverage and saying, “I find it appalling that Rebecca Cooke would wait to renounce the endorsement from the disgraced Rep. Eric Swalwell until she received tremendous heat from the media. This is not leadership, this is political convenience for her.”
Some Democrats accuse Republicans of hypocrisy for failing to hold their own members accountable. They mentioned Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for multiple misconduct allegations, and Gonzales, who ended his reelection bid last month under pressure from House GOP leadership.
Viet Shelton, a DCCC spokesperson, stated, “The hacks at the NRCC who are currently defending Cory Mills and spent six-figures just last month to protect Tony Gonzales should sit this one out. It’s Democrats who are actually standing up and calling for accountability in Congress — consistently and independent of party.”
