For many voters, Eric Swalwell seems to be a name that refuses to fade from the political landscape.
Despite stepping down from his congressional position amidst serious allegations, Swalwell will still feature on two distinct ballots for East Bay residents. These ballots pertain to the special election for his former 14th congressional district seat and the California June 2 primary. Residents of cities such as Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, and Pleasanton should anticipate receiving these ballots.
Swalwell recently vacated his congressional seat, stepping down last month following substantial sexual misconduct claims, which also led him to withdraw from the gubernatorial race. Though he has been laying low for over a month, he continues to refute these allegations.
The special election’s primary to fill Swalwell’s congressional seat is set for June 16, occurring two weeks after the statewide primary. Voters in his district will cast their votes first to decide on a representative for the upcoming Congress, then, later, on who will complete the remainder of his term.
If any candidate secures a majority in either election, they will directly claim the seat. However, if no majority is achieved, the top two contenders will advance to a subsequent election. For the special election, this deciding vote is scheduled for August 18, whereas the regular general election will be held in November.
Moreover, Swalwell’s name will still appear on the primary ballot for governor, as he exited the race too late for his name to be withdrawn.
Gov. Gavin Newsom called for the special election within hours of Swalwell’s resignation in April, likely to prevent Democrats from ceding ground to Republicans in the House for too long. The governor took 10 days to call a special election when GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa died in January.
There are a myriad of candidates looking to fill Swalwell’s seat in the special election. They include Democrats like State Sen. Aisha Wahab, former BART Director Melissa Hernandez, and educator Rakhi Israni, along with Republicans including real estate investor Wendy Huang, florist Dena Maldonado, businessman Tom Wong, and educator Jack Wu.
Several of those candidates are also running to fill his seat permanently. The June 2 primary election will also take place under the new congressional lines approved via Prop 50, but the special election will use the old district lines.
Swalwell’s former benefactor, Stephen Cloobeck, was recently caught up in controversy of his own.
He got arrested on multiple felony charges pointing to witness tampering this week.
