Eric Swalwell’s campaign for California governor didn’t just lose momentum — it collapsed in roughly 13 minutes, according to Fox News contributor Liz Peek. The tell? His own campaign chairman walked out the door about two hours after sexual misconduct allegations went public. Peek called that a dead giveaway, and said the New York Times spin — that Californians simply didn’t know Swalwell well enough — is “total baloney.” Her read: everyone already knew exactly who Eric Swalwell was.
Now Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna is filing a motion to expel him from the House, and Peek thinks the argument is straightforward. If Swalwell was willing to use his congressional seat as a campaign launchpad, he shouldn’t get to hide behind it when the campaign implodes. Peek didn’t mince words: “I don’t think he has any place in the House.” She also reminded viewers this is the same man who was on the Intelligence Committee while sleeping with a Chinese spy named Fang Fang — who is now back in China.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Democrats are playing a careful game. They pushed Swalwell out of the governor’s race, but they’re fighting hard to keep his House seat warm. The reason is simple math — Republicans hold a razor-thin majority, and every vacant Democratic seat makes that margin slightly more manageable for the GOP. Peek described the whole thing as “almost a coordinated hit,” noting that too many Democrats were already splitting the California governor’s vote, which could hand Republicans their first shot at the governorship in decades.
With Swalwell’s 11% of the vote now up for grabs, Tom Steyer moves into the lead among Democratic candidates — with Katie Porter still in the mix. Peek noted that Nancy Pelosi, who knows House power better than almost anyone alive, wants Swalwell out of the California race but desperately does not want to give up that congressional seat. It’s a classic Pelosi calculation: protect the caucus count first, worry about the rest later.
