Gov. Gavin Newsom calls special election to fill Eric Swalwell's seat

Grace Hase, The Mercury News on Apr 14, 2026

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday afternoon that he’s calling a special election to finish the remaining months of former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s term after he resigned earlier in the day amid sexual assault allegations.

The election will be held on Aug. 18 — just two months after the June primary where nine candidates are looking to fill the 14th congressional district seat in a new term starting next year. The top two vote-getters in June regardless of political party will move onto the November runoff and replace the victor of the special election come January 2027.

Newsom’s decision to call a special election comes amid a razor-thin margin between the two parties in the House of Representative as Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, also announced his resignation this week. He resigned Tuesday after admitting an affair with an aide who later took her own life.

Newsom is unable to appoint a replacement to Swalwell’s seat like he did in 2023 when the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein died because of differing rules between the House of Representatives and the Senate. Representatives in the House must be elected.

Swalwell suspended his run for governor on Sunday following allegations from four women who accused the embattled Democrat of sexual assault and sexual misconduct, including sending unsolicited photos of his genitalia, according to reports in the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN. A fifth woman in Southern California came forward on Tuesday morning, alleging that Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018.

In Swalwell’s resignation letter, he said that he is “deeply sorry to my family, staff and constituents for mistakes in judgement I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me, however, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”

The 14th congressional district represents parts of Alameda County including Hayward, Pleasanton, Livermore, Union City, Castro Valley and parts of Dublin and Fremont.

The nine candidates currently vying for the open seat in June are San Leandro Councilmember Victor Aguilar Jr., businesswoman Carin Elam, BART Board President Melissa Hernandez, graphic designer Matt Ortega, nonprofit attorney Rakhi Israni Singh, state Sen. Aisha Wahab, real estate investor Wendy Huang, business owner Dena Maldonado and lawyer Suzanne Chenault.

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(Staff writer Kyle Martin contributed to this report.)

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