THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE ALREADY EMBATTLED GOVERNOR CANDIDATE
I’m not sure what it is about California, one of the most diverse states in the Union, but it seems to never lack for white savior politicians.
Eric Swalwell has officially entered the California governor’s race, and the launch tells you everything you need to know. He announced it not in a policy forum or a town hall, but on late-night television—because nothing says “serious executive leadership” quite like a studio audience that came for celebrity monologues. From there he rolled into a campaign video promising lower prices, higher wages, and a “fight for California,” all while framing himself as the one man standing between the state and Donald Trump.
This is the Swalwell formula: high wattage, low depth, and an absolute belief that California’s problems can be solved through media presence alone. If his political instincts sound familiar, it’s because this is the same playbook that gave him his national profile in the first place—maximum camera time, minimum credibility risk. Except this time he isn’t just auditioning for cable panels; he wants control of the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Hovering over this narrative, still unresolved in the public consciousness, is the old problem: his entanglement with Christine Fang—better known in primary-source reporting as “Fang Fang,” a suspected Chinese intelligence operative who cultivated relationships with California politicians between 2011 and 2015. Axios documented her fundraiser work for Swalwell and her successful placement of an intern inside his congressional office. After receiving a briefing from federal authorities, Swalwell cut ties, cooperated with investigators, and has never been accused of wrongdoing. But optics have a shelf life, and this one sits on the top rack of every oppo researcher in the state.
Then there’s the fresh storm cloud: the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s 2025 referral of Swalwell to the Department of Justice over alleged mortgage and tax irregularities relating to his Washington, D.C. home. He calls the referral politically motivated. The FHFA isn’t known for elaborate pranks.
What is it with Democrats and all their mortgage fraud?
So here stands Eric Swalwell—candidate for governor, defender of California, advocate of modernized voting systems including mobile/phone avenues, and longtime member of Congress whose political ecosystem includes a spy scandal he didn’t invite and a fraud referral he doesn’t want. He is asking voters to believe he’ll fix California’s structural dysfunction while insisting his own structural headaches are misunderstandings.
California has seen media-centric candidates before. Some even got elected. But voters looking for stability in a state buffeted by housing shortages, rising costs, infrastructure failures, grid unreliability, and persistent crime might not find solace in a candidate who can’t outrun the narratives attached to his name. For someone who has spent his career warning Americans about foreign interference, it remains ironic that his biggest political shadow is a reminder of how close it once came to his own doorstep.
Swalwell calls himself a fighter. California voters will decide whether he’s the one they want in the ring—or the one they’ve already seen too much of on camera.
CITATIONS
- ABC7 – “East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell Announces Run for California Governor” (2025)
- Washington Post – “Eric Swalwell, Democrat from California, Announces Governor Bid” (2025)
- Axios – “Suspected Chinese Spy Targeted California Politicians” (2020)
- Washington Post – “What We Know About Eric Swalwell’s Ties to an Alleged Chinese Spy” (2020)
- Washington Post – “FHFA Refers Eric Swalwell to DOJ for Mortgage Fraud Inquiry” (2025)