Congressman Eric Swalwell had been digging in all weekend casting the sexual assault allegations against him as a political conspiracy, but Sunday evening he announced he was suspending his gubernatorial campaign.The picture was already looking grim for Swalwell, with his own staffers largely turnin g against him, and three other women coming forward to CNN to make accusations of sexual misconduct against him on Saturday. Swalwell is also now facing possible investigations in both Alameda County and in Manhattan, and he lost key endorsements from labor unions the SEIU and California Teachers Association, and from House colleagues and two senators, Democrats Adam Schiff of California and Ruben Gallego of Arizona.This all followed accusations revealed Friday by a former staffer in Swalwell's Castro Valley office who claimed that Swalwell twice assaulted her, once in 2019 and once in 2024, when she was to drunk to give consent for sex.On Saturday, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi called on Swalwell to drop out of the governor's race, but at least for now, he is instead choosing the route of denying his accusers' accusations.By Sunday evening, Swalwell had decided to heed that call, clearly under immense pressure from his own party."I am suspending my campaign for Governor," Swalwell wrote on X just after 5:30 pm Sunday. " To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past."Still, he added, "I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s."Swalwell had responded to the accusations over the weekend in a brief video on social media in which he flatly denied that any assaults took place, but admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife of ten years."I do not suggest to you in any way that I am perfect or that I’m a saint,” Swalwell said. "I’ve certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past. But those mistakes are between me and my wife. And to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position."Swalwell's campaign and congressional office staffers put out an unsigned statement saying that they stood with the accusers, and suggesting that some of them could not afford to resign from their jobs though they might want to."We stand with our former colleague and the other women who have come forward. We believe you should stand with them, too,” the statement says. “The behavior detailed in these reports is abhorrent, beneath the dignity of those serving in public office and betrays the trust of all Californians."And now things in the governor's race will take a major shift this week. Fellow candidates Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, Betty Yee, and Tony Thurmond had already called on Swalwell to drop out of the race and resign from Congress, as the Chronicle reports.Republican Congresswoman Paulina Luna of Florida has announced that she will be introducing a resolution this week to have Swalwell removed from the House altogether — something that could have legs, and could end up impacting other House members who face similar accusations of misconduct. As the New York Times reports, a move to hold a rare removal vote on Swalwell is likely to spur three more removal votes, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.Representative Tony Gonzales, Republican of Texas, is accused of having an affair with a staffer who took her own life. Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Democrat of Florida, is already facing possible removal over charges that she embezzled $5 million in disaster relief funds. And Representative Cory Mills, Republican of Florida, is under investigation in DC over an alleged assault on a woman.As the Times notes, "In the 237-year history of the U.S. House of Representatives, only six lawmakers have been expelled by a vote of their peers. Three of them were slave-owning supporters of the Confederacy, two were convicted felons, and one was the serial fabulist George Santos."Steyer and Porter have the most to gain from Swalwell departing the governor's race, however the field remains crowded and the Democratic party will continue pressuring candidates polling in the single digits to also drop out of the race to avoid a scenario in which Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco clinch the most overall votes in the June 2 primary.Previously: Former Staffer Says Rep. Eric Swalwell Sexually Assaulted Her TwiceTop image: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on September 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)This post has been updated throughout following Swalwell's announcement. ...read more read less