{"id":1114,"date":"2026-06-03T08:39:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114"},"modified":"2026-06-03T08:39:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:39:27","slug":"the-democrat-flops-in-governors-race-and-why-eric-swalwell-could-still-play-a-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114","title":{"rendered":"The Democrat flops in governor’s race \u2014 and why Eric Swalwell could still play a role"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The field of candidates for governor was once crowded with big-name California Democrats.<\/p>\n

Read more Canada\u2019s mass-graves scam reveals the high price of media bias<\/a><\/p>\n

By Election Day, it had narrowed to two \u2014 Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer \u2014 and Republican Steve Hilton.<\/p>\n

Each of those three campaigns has a story to tell about its own success.<\/p>\n

Becerra will talk about how he overcame \u201cracist\u201d criteria on polling and fundraising to become the first viable Latino candidate for governor (after Eric Swalwell imploded in a sudden sex scandal).<\/p>\n

Steyer will talk about how he fought billionaires and special interests \u2014 after spending over $200 million of his own money, a record for California (and it was just the primary).<\/p>\n

Hilton can justifiably talk about the power of his policy ideas, and the importance of projecting a positive message about the state\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

But what about the also-rans?<\/p>\n

Several political heavyweights never quite got off the ground.<\/p>\n

The most prominent was San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mahan had a record of accomplishment to point to, and a giant war chest of Silicon Valley money.<\/p>\n

But he entered the race too late, after the field of candidates was already bursting with big-name Democrats.<\/p>\n

And his moderate pitch did not appeal to a Democratic Party base that is furious about the Trump presidency and eager to hear more strident voices.<\/p>\n

Katie Porter, the former US representative, and a prot\u00e9g\u00e9e of liberal Senator Elizabeth Warren, was an early front-runner.<\/p>\n

But when she walked off the set of a CBS News interview last fall, she provoked questions about her temperament.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those doubts were reinforced by media reports about how she had treated staffers and even her former husband.<\/p>\n

Former LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa seems to have believed he was the heir apparent to the governor\u2019s mansion, after finishing second to Newsom in the 2018 primary.<\/p>\n

Read more Ex-Rangers star Sean Avery claims \u2018crazy\u2019 neighbor tried to frame him with \u2018hookers\u2019 after shooting outside LA home<\/a><\/p>\n

But he struggled to find a message. And while his criticisms of fellow Democrats were refreshing, they weren\u2019t what the party base wanted to hear.<\/p>\n

Villaraigosa had also been out of public office for more than a decade, and seemed out of touch with the times.<\/p>\n

Another failed contender was Betty Yee, the state controller.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She performed well at the party convention. But she had little charisma, no social media presence, and therefore no resonance with voters.<\/p>\n

State schools superintendent Tony Thurmond performed well in the one debate for which he qualified. But it was too little, too late.<\/p>\n

Thurmond had also taken a very unpopular position against parents\u2019 rights to be notified if their children want to change genders at school.<\/p>\n

Even in deep-blue California, that is not what voters want.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thurmond\u2019s views on transgender issues are no different than those of the rest of the field, but he had been aggressive in pushing them, even visiting school board meetings personally.<\/p>\n

He would have found it difficult to explain that, if his campaign had picked up any momentum.<\/p>\n

Let us not forget two other Democrats.<\/p>\n

One was a candidate who never ran: Rick Caruso.<\/p>\n

Caruso lost to Karen Bass in the race for LA mayor in 2022. After the devastating fires last year, many Angelenos regretted that he had not won.<\/p>\n

He considered running again for mayor, or for governor, but decided he would have more influence on social media and behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

The other Democrat was Swalwell.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The disgraced former congressman still appeared on the ballot, because he dropped out too late to take his name off. He will likely win thousands of votes from people who don\u2019t read the news.<\/p>\n

That could prove to be a decisive margin in a close-run race.<\/p>\n

In a supreme irony, Swalwell could play the spoiler.<\/p>\n

Joel Pollak is Opinion editor of The California Post.<\/em><\/p>\n

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

California Post News<\/strong>: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post Sports<\/strong> Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post <\/strong>Opinion
California Post Newsletters<\/strong>: Sign up here!
California Post App<\/strong>: Download here!
Home delivery<\/strong>: Sign up here!
Page Six Hollywood<\/strong>: Sign up here!<\/p>\n

Read more Spencer Pratt lays out plan to defeat Mayor Karen Bass in November runoff: \u2018I could not be more excited\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The disgraced former California congressman will likely win thousands of votes from people who don\u2019t read the news. That could prove to be a decisive margin in a close-run race.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Democrat flops in governor's race \u2014 and why Eric Swalwell could still play a role - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Democrat flops in governor's race \u2014 and why Eric Swalwell could still play a role - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The disgraced former California congressman will likely win thousands of votes from people who don\u2019t read the news. That could prove to be a decisive margin in a close-run race.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T08:39:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"The Democrat flops in governor’s race \u2014 and why Eric Swalwell could still play a role\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T08:39:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114\"},\"wordCount\":741,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b635a77a4bf8f3a419d0e27a2bb44aa8.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114\",\"name\":\"The Democrat flops in governor's race \u2014 and why Eric Swalwell could still play a role - Metro Transit Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b635a77a4bf8f3a419d0e27a2bb44aa8.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T08:39:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b635a77a4bf8f3a419d0e27a2bb44aa8.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b635a77a4bf8f3a419d0e27a2bb44aa8.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1114#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Democrat flops in governor’s race \u2014 and why Eric Swalwell could still play a role\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Transit Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Democrat flops in governor's race \u2014 and why Eric Swalwell could still play a role - Metro Transit Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Democrat flops in governor's race \u2014 and why Eric Swalwell could still play a role - Metro Transit Review","og_description":"The disgraced former California congressman will likely win thousands of votes from people who don\u2019t read the news. That could prove to be a decisive margin in a close-run race.","og_url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114","og_site_name":"Metro Transit Review","article_published_time":"2026-06-03T08:39:27+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"headline":"The Democrat flops in governor’s race \u2014 and why Eric Swalwell could still play a role","datePublished":"2026-06-03T08:39:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114"},"wordCount":741,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b635a77a4bf8f3a419d0e27a2bb44aa8.webp","articleSection":["Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114","name":"The Democrat flops in governor's race \u2014 and why Eric Swalwell could still play a role - Metro Transit Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b635a77a4bf8f3a419d0e27a2bb44aa8.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-03T08:39:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b635a77a4bf8f3a419d0e27a2bb44aa8.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b635a77a4bf8f3a419d0e27a2bb44aa8.webp","width":1200,"height":799},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1114#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Democrat flops in governor’s race \u2014 and why Eric Swalwell could still play a role"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/","name":"Metro Transit Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/metrotransitreview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}