California Governor Fundraises Off Rape Allegations Against Former Congressman

There’s something deeply revealing about a politician who sees opportunity where decent people see tragedy. When Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress this week amid rape allegations and multiple criminal investigations, California Governor Gavin Newsom didn’t pause for reflection. He didn’t wait for facts. He certainly didn’t consider that maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t the moment for political opportunism. Instead, he fired off a fundraising email.

Let that sink in for a second. A sitting congressman faces accusations of sexual assault. The Justice Department opens an investigation. The Manhattan District Attorney gets involved. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department launches its own inquiry. And Newsom’s first instinct is to ask for money.

“With a very slim Republican majority in Congress, I was not going to give Mike Johnson even a single extra day before filling this seat,” Newsom wrote to his donor list through his Campaign for Democracy PAC. The message is clear as glass. Power matters more than principle. Seats matter more than allegations of rape. The political calculus doesn’t pause for something as inconvenient as a criminal investigation into one of your own.

You know what’s missing from that fundraising pitch? Any acknowledgment of the woman who came forward. Model Lonna Drewes stood at a press conference Tuesday and accused Swalwell of rape. That takes courage most of us can’t fathom. She put her name and face to an allegation that will follow her forever, regardless of what any investigation concludes. And the governor of the nation’s most populous state responded by treating her accusation as a scheduling problem.

This isn’t about rushing to judgment on Swalwell himself. No charges have been filed. Three separate investigations are underway, and he deserves the same presumption of innocence anyone else would get. The legal process will run its course, as it should. But that’s exactly the point. While that process unfolds, while investigators gather evidence and interview witnesses, Newsom has already moved past it entirely. The allegations aren’t a reason for concern or caution. They’re a fundraising hook.

The timing alone should make people uncomfortable. Swalwell hadn’t even cleaned out his congressional office before Newsom was in donors’ inboxes. The man had just exited the California governor’s race under the weight of these accusations. His political career imploded in real time. And Newsom saw a chance to pad his war chest and score points against Republicans.

This is what happens when politics becomes purely transactional. When everything reduces to partisan advantage and nothing else registers. Newsom could have issued a statement expressing concern for all parties involved. He could have committed to a fair special election process. He could have done literally anything that acknowledged the gravity of rape allegations without prejudging the outcome. Instead, he chose to fundraise.

The Democratic Party spent years building its brand around believing women and taking sexual misconduct seriously. Remember all those speeches? All those hashtags and statements of solidarity? Apparently that commitment has limits. It applies right up until holding your own accountable might cost you a congressional seat. Then it’s back to business as usual.

What message does this send to women who’ve experienced sexual violence? That your story matters, but only if it’s politically convenient? That allegations against powerful men will be taken seriously unless there’s a special election to win? The cynicism is breathtaking.

Newsom wants to be a national figure. He’s positioned himself as the future of progressive politics, the guy who’ll stand up to Republicans and fight for Democratic values. But this episode reveals something else entirely. It shows a politician so focused on partisan combat that he’s lost sight of basic decency. Or maybe he never had it.

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