By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona congressional candidate Marlene Galán-Woods is facing criticism from the National Republican Congressional Committee over her campaign’s past payments to a fundraising company linked to former California Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA).
In a statement released Friday, NRCC spokesman Ben Petersen said Galán-Woods has remained silent about her campaign’s use of Findraiser, an artificial intelligence-based fundraising company tied to Swalwell.
Federal Election Commission records show Galán-Woods’ campaign committee reported multiple payments to Findraiser totaling at least $1,425 in disbursements during the 2025-2026 election cycle.
Swalwell has come under increasing scrutiny in recent days following allegations of sexual misconduct and assault made by multiple women. Swalwell has denied the allegations.
The controversy has also led to renewed attention on political figures and campaigns that maintained ties to Swalwell or companies connected to him.
In its statement, the NRCC argued Galán-Woods should sever ties with the company and explain why her campaign continued to use the service after the allegations against Swalwell became public.
“Democrat Marlene Woods owes voters an answer: Why hasn’t she dumped Eric Swalwell’s company?” Petersen said. “Her campaign’s close financial relationship with Swalwell is disgraceful.”
In another statement, Petersen described Swalwell’s reputation as a “creep” as an “open secret” in the Democratic Party, and criticized Galán-Woods for her response to the scandal, saying, “Democrat Marlene Woods bragged about Eric Swalwell’s support, then refused to say a word about the rape allegations against him for nearly a week. Shame on her protecting her fellow Democrat.”
Galán-Woods responded to criticism over her past ties to Swalwell in a post on X, calling the allegations against him “abhorrent and credible.”
“He, or anyone else who assaults women or abuses their position of power, has absolutely no place in Congress. Full stop,” Galán-Woods wrote.
Galán-Woods argued that Republican criticism centers on an endorsement she received from Swalwell during an earlier election cycle, before the allegations became public. She also accused Republican candidate Jay Feely of hypocrisy for previously accepting an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Findraiser was co-founded in early 2024 by Swalwell and Yardena Wolf, his former congressional chief of staff, as an AI-based fundraising platform aimed at Democratic candidates and committees.
Swalwell and Wolf personally promoted the company to fellow Democrats and lawmakers, according to NOTUS reports. A Democratic operative reportedly told the outlet, “He is relentless in pushing [Findraiser],” adding, “He’s peddling the shit out of that thing.”
Recent reporting from Politico indicated that several Democratic campaigns and committees have begun distancing themselves from Findraiser following the allegations against Swalwell and the resulting political fallout.
The payments to Findraiser are relatively small in dollar amounts, but the issue could become politically significant as Republicans seek to tie Democratic candidates to Swalwell amid the fallout surrounding the allegations against him.
Galán-Woods is running as a Democrat in Arizona’s First Congressional District and is facing nine other Democrats in the primary, including state Rep. Amish Shah, who led her by 21.5 points in a February HighGround poll. Shah lost to incumbent Republican Rep. David Schweikert by 16,572 votes, or 3.8 percentage points, in 2024.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
