<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Representative Eric Swalwell is under criminal investigation and facing calls to drop out of the California governor’s race after multiple women accused him of a range of sexual misconduct in news reports published Friday.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Before the articles’ publication, he had been emerging as a front-runner in a crowded race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. But now Mr. Swalwell, a Democrat, has lost several campaign endorsements and faces uncertainty over his political career.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Here’s what to know about the allegations, which Mr. Swalwell has denied.</p><h2 class="css-11zi5nh eoo0vm40" id="link-36733d60">New York has opened a criminal investigation.</h2><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">On Saturday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a statement that it was starting an investigation into an allegation of sexual assault against Mr. Swalwell that was reported to have taken place in New York City.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">In an article in <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">The San Francisco Chronicle</a>, a former staffer of Mr. Swalwell’s said that the congressman had sexually assaulted her in a New York hotel room after an event in 2024. The staffer told the paper that she had been too intoxicated to consent to the encounter, and that Mr. Swalwell had ignored her when she had tried to refuse.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney’s office said that it was urging “survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations” to contact its Special Victims Division.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The woman also said that Mr. Swalwell had assaulted her in 2019. The New York Times has not confirmed the accusations of sexual assault.</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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