Here's who Eric Swalwell's supporters in the governor's race are likely to back now
Rep. Eric Swalwell's departure from the California governor's race - and his resignation Monday from Congress - has scattered donors, supporters and endorsers to his former opponents, triggering a new round of chaos in the volatile California governor race.
Fallout from the implosion of Swalwell's campaign won't fully be known for days, as his supporters and donors contemplate where to migrate just weeks before voters receive their mail-in ballots for the June 2 primary.
Swalwell was the leading Democratic candidate in most polls, trailing former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. He was ahead of fellow Democrats, including former Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire Tom Steyer.
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Porter (39%) is the top second choice of Swalwell voters, and Steyer a distant second (15%), according to a UC Berkeley Citrin Center/Politico poll.
More will be known when the next tracking poll commissioned by the California Democratic Party is released next week. That survey, which is going into the field this week, should capture where voters have moved since the Chronicle published the blockbuster allegations that Swalwell sexually assaulted a former staffer.
As for Swalwell's endorsers in Congress, "a few will go with Steyer, a few will see if they can help breathe life into (former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier) Becerra, and maybe one or two will go with (San Jose Mayor Matt) Mahan. I'm pretty sure that none will go with Porter," said one Democratic member of the California House delegation who asked not to be identified so they could speak freely about internal party matters. Several members said she had a reputation for not collaborating well with her fellow Democratic House members and for being tough on her staffers.
Similar trepidation about Porter was confirmed by two other members of the California delegation. Another member said they knew of five members who were slated to speak with Mahan about a possible endorsement.
Meanwhile, Steyer's campaign announced a new round of endorsements from California Democrats, including Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, Assembly Members Steve Bennett, Tasha Boerner, Corey Jackson, Sharon Quirk-Silva and Nick Schultz, and state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-San Jose, is co-starring in Steyer's TV ads.
"Big endorsement stuff in the works, stay tuned," an insider with Porter's campaign told me.
Becerra campaign senior adviser Michael Bustamante said Monday that "there has been a real shift in momentum. I think we're going to be in a position to announce a number of other endorsements by week's end. These things take time." The Coalition for Humane Rights in Los Angeles Action Fund, which advocates for immigrant rights, announced Monday that it endorsed Becerra. Swalwell had also sought the group's endorsement.
Becerra's campaign doesn't have much time to waste. He received 4% in a California Democratic Party-commissioned survey last week.
Swalwell's major labor endorsements may be up for grabs again, too. The board of the 310,000-member California Teachers Association, which rescinded its endorsement in the wake of the Chronicle story, is meeting Tuesday about its next steps. The board of the 750,000-member Service Employees International Union could revisit its endorsement, too. The union conducted evaluations of all the top candidates over the past several months, so it likely wouldn't need to re-interview anyone. But it has no meetings planned yet.
Top donors are scattering to Porter and Mahan, said a Bay Area donor with strong ties to the state's top political contributors.
Porter shared at least 87 donors with Swalwell, Becerra had 21 and Steyer had 1, according to a Chronicle analysis of political contribution data through April 13. Data for donors who gave less than $1,000 after Jan. 1 isn't available yet.
More good news for Mahan: $10 million has rolled into his political action committee, Back to Basics, since Friday, Politico reported, "including a $1 million contribution from Los Angeles developer and billionaire Rick Caruso, after pitching Swalwell's demise as an opening for Mahan." The PAC launched a major TV ad campaign for Mahan on Monday amid a drive to raise $35 million before the primary.
Mahan needs the help. He's tied with Becerra in the state party survey.
Even former state Controller Betty Yee's campaign, which has been lagging at the bottom of most polls for most of the race, predicted that Swalwell's departure could bring more supporters to Yee, one of only two women among the top candidates.
"Betty has a scratchy voice after receiving nonstop calls this weekend," campaign spokesperson Marcey Brightwell said. "People are angry and fed up. They've had enough. They want a leader with integrity who doesn't abuse staff and can't be dragged down by scandal. No official endorsements to announce at this point, but we expect updates later this week."
Christian Leonard contributed to this report.
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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 10:33 AM.