The sexual assault allegations against US Rep. Eric Swalwell are shocking and disturbing, and we stand with the women who have come forward to tell their stories. We also commend the quick response among his colleagues to demand his departure from elected office—there are too many examples of powerful men abusing power and getting away with it.
While the priority remains accountability and justice for Swalwell’s victims, attention has also turned to the impact on the California gubernatorial contest, and this email shares how Katie Porter now has an opportunity to move up in the race.
In her campaign’s latest internal poll, nearly half of Swalwell’s supporters (46 percent) named her as their second choice, compared to just 14 percent who favored Tom Steyer—even as he has spent $40 million in advertising.
Polling from Politico and UC Berkeley confirms this trend, with 39 percent of Swalwell voters switching to Porter, as does internal polling from the Steyer campaign, which shows 31 percent of Swalwell voters switching to her.
That said, Porter is still likely to be vastly outspent by Steyer, a billionaire who has spent more than $100 million of his own money in this race. But we’re also seeing a clear pattern with female candidates over the last year: women winning with big margins and often overperforming expectations, in some cases even with less resources. It started in November 2025 when Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill notched huge gubernatorial wins, and continued last month in the Illinois US Senate primary, where Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won big despite being swamped by her opponent’s spending. We’re calling it Womentum.
Katie Porter doesn’t have to outspend Steyer—she just needs to compete. That’s where the Electing Women Alliance comes in. Please donate to her today and help her capture the shifting momentum in this race. We will share any donations with Group leaders in your region. The maximum allowable donation to gubernatorial candidates in California is $39,200 per election.
Electing Women Alliance members are also invited to join a supporter call with Porter’s campaign at 3 pm PT/6 pm ET, tomorrow, Wednesday, April 15. RSVP here.
Electing Women Member, the primary is coming up on June 2 and ballots start going out on May 4. She needs support ASAP to help her consolidate support in this race early, and we know the Alliance will come through for her.