Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat known for his role as a House manager during President Donald Trump’s 2021 impeachment trial, has announced his candidacy for California governor. Swalwell made the announcement on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Thursday night.
“Our state, this great state, needs a fighter and a protector,” Swalwell said during the broadcast. “Someone who will bring prices down, lift wages up.”
He also referenced his confrontations with former President Trump and stated his intention to focus on issues affecting Californians. “Our state is under attack,” Swalwell said in a statement published on his campaign website. Trump “has militarized our streets, canceled cancer research, zeroed out clean energy climate projects, and is chasing our immigrant friends and neighbors through their workplaces, kids’ schools, and houses of worship.”
Swalwell’s appearance on Kimmel followed recent criticism from Trump directed at both ABC and Kimmel. Earlier this year, ABC temporarily suspended Kimmel after comments he made following the assassination of GOP activist Charlie Kirk; the suspension was lifted after public backlash. On Thursday, Trump used social media to call for ABC to remove Kimmel from the air.
Swalwell has represented a district in northern California since 2012. He previously ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries before withdrawing and endorsing Joe Biden.
