Democrat congressional candidate Rebecca Cooke has quietly removed Rep. Eric Swalwell’s name from her campaign website’s list of trusted leader endorsements, just days after explosive sexual misconduct allegations against the California Democrat surfaced and triggered a wave of staff resignations from his own gubernatorial campaign and calls for him to withdraw from the governor’s race and resign from Congress.
Cooke, who is challenging Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, announced Swalwell’s endorsement nearly a year ago on April 23, 2025, alongside more than a dozen other House Democrats. The move was touted in a campaign news release as part of broad support from congressional leaders.
As of Saturday morning, Swalwell’s name no longer appeared in the “Trusted Leaders” section of her website, but remains as part of a press release announcing a group of Congressional endorsements
Cooke’s campaign has not issued a statement condemning Swalwell’s actions and has stayed silent about the allegations against Swalwell or whether he should suspend his gubernatorial campaign and resign from Congress. Swalwell’s September Facebook post endorsing Cooke through his RemedyPac remains up.
The allegations against Swalwell, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, include claims by a former staffer that he sexually assaulted her on two occasions — once in 2019 while she worked in his district office and again in April 2024 after a charity gala in New York. The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Chronicle she was too intoxicated to consent in both instances. She provided text messages to friends describing the encounters, including one in which she wrote she woke up during the 2024 incident and told him to stop. Medical records reviewed by the newspaper showed she sought testing for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections afterward.
Three additional women have made similar claims of misconduct to CNN, according to reporting that coincided with staff departures from Swalwell’s gubernatorial bid. Senior aides, including strategic adviser Courtni Pugh, abruptly resigned, Politico reported. Swalwell has categorically denied the allegations, calling them “anonymous election-eve claims” and “categorically false.” A post from his Rep account on X alleged the same and said he vowed to defend himself “with the facts.”
The scandal has drawn swift backlash within Swalwell’s own party. Several high-profile endorsers have withdrawn support, and some Democratic allies have urged him to exit the California governor’s race and resign his congressional seat. It is clear to see the hypocrisy: Swalwell has long positioned himself as an advocate for ‘believe all women’ and vocally accused Republicans, especially President Trump, of misconduct at every turn, and attempted to shoehorn the Epstein list into every conversation. Now that he is being accused of the very crimes he’s accused President Trump of, he has his lawyers send a cease-and-desist letter.
The National Republican Congressional Committee highlighted Cooke’s tie to Swalwell in an April 24, 2025, news release that referenced past involvement with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative known as Fang Fang. “Sleazy political activist Rebecca Cooke is now following the lead of Chinese spy Fang Fang by aligning herself with Eric Swalwell,” an NRCC spokesman said at the time.
Cooke has not addressed the new allegations or explained the apparent removal of Swalwell’s endorsement. Her campaign has stayed silent on X. The 3rd District race is considered highly competitive, with national implications for control of the House. Eric Swalwell insists you believe all women, unless of course, those women are making accusations against Eric Swalwell. Rebecca Cooke’s strategy is to stay silent.
