by Staff Reporter | Apr 12, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) revoked the gubernatorial endorsement of his longtime friend, Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell, over sexual assault claims.
Gallego dropped support for his “best friend” Swalwell following a Friday report in the San Francisco Chronicle detailing sexual assault claims by one of Swalwell’s former female staffers.
That report came out in the days following social media posts by political activists alleging other incidents of sexual misconduct.
Gallego said he regretted defending Swalwell.
“What is described is indefensible. Women who come forward with accounts like this deserve to be heard with respect, not questioned or dismissed,” said Gallego. “I regret having come to his defense on social media prior to knowing all the information. I am equally as shocked and upset about what has transpired.”
In the days leading up to the San Francisco Chronicle report, Gallego was defending Swalwell against the online rumors.
“When you are in first place, is when they will target you,” said Gallego. “Eric is a fighter and he will win the governor’s race.”
According to the report, an anonymous staffer alleged that Swalwell sexually assaulted her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent. Swalwell issued a statement denying the allegations and indicating he would initiate legal action.
The staffer alleged that Swalwell’s unwanted advances began almost immediately after she was hired to work in one of his district offices in 2019; she alleged Swalwell sent and solicited nude pictures from her via Snapchat. At the time, the staffer was 21 years old.
Common among the various rumors and allegations of Swalwell’s misconduct was the use of Snapchat.
She also alleged that Swalwell attempted to kiss her following a donor meeting, and in a separate car ride exposed his genitalia and requested oral sex. In the latter instance, she recounted that she complied.
That same year of her hiring, the staffer alleged that she blacked out while out drinking with Swalwell and later woke up naked in his hotel bed.
In 2024, some time after ceasing employment with Swalwell’s office, the woman alleged that she again blacked out while out drinking with him and was again sexually assaulted.
Ahead of Friday’s report, Swalwell’s attorney submitted a cease-and-desist letter to the former staffer. The letter threatened a lawsuit unless she walked back her allegations.
Following the report, three more women told CNN that Swalwell had committed sexual misconduct against them. Swalwell has denied these allegations as well.
Beyond those claims of wrongdoing, Swalwell denied to the California Post that he ever had any sexual relationships with any staff or interns.
Gallego and Swalwell were close for over a decade leading up to this development. The Arizona senator served as Swalwell’s campaign chair when the latter made a brief run for president in 2019.
The Arizona senator recently invested in Swalwell’s AI startup.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Mar 24, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego (D) invested campaign funds into an AI startup launched by Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat and gubernatorial candidate.
Gallego paid Swalwell’s startup FindRaiser over $13,000 between April and July of last summer from two campaign committees: Gallego for Arizona and Juntos PAC, as first reported by NOTUS. About $10,500 came from Gallego for Arizona and over $2,600 came from Juntos PAC. Both issued identical disbursements of $2,613.75 for subscriptions to the startup, per Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.
First congressional district candidate Marlene Galan-Woods also got in on the action. Galan-Woods, a former Fox News and CBS News anchor and key member of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ gubernatorial transition team in 2023, paid almost $1,000 to Swalwell’s startup between October and November of last year.
Swalwell and Gallego have described one another as “best friends” in various media interviews over the years. In a more recent interview with CNN last November, Swalwell likened himself and Gallego to “the Avengers,” describing them as the standard-bearers of the Democratic Party.
The startup, FindRaiser, uses AI to search and provide advice to candidates about their donor databases. Swalwell’s former chief of staff, Yardena Wolf, cofounded the startup and serves as its CEO. NOTUS reported that Wolf sent promotional emails for FindRaiser prior to stepping down as chief of staff last December.
Wolf joined Swalwell’s office in 2021, making the transition from the vice presidency of a fundraising company where she’d raised funds for Swalwell. Listed on Wolf’s LinkedIn under her chief of staff employment is a link to a 2024 Elle article, “The Group Chat That Secretly Runs Congress.” Members of that group chat, all females, included chiefs of staff for Democratic representatives that gave campaign funds to FindRaiser.
Swalwell invested over $7,000 of his own campaign funds into the startup as well. In his annual financial disclosure report, Swalwell estimated FindRaiser’s value to be between $250,000 and $500,000.
Others to give money to the startup out of their campaign coffers were:
- Alabama Rep. Shomari Figures, over $1,000 from Committee to Elect Shomari Figures For Congress through payments made last June and July;
- California Rep. Jimmy Gomez, $3,000 from Jimmy Gomez For Congress through payments made from last July through November;
- California Sen. Adam Schiff, about $2,000 from Schiff For Senate through payments made last November and December;
- Michigan U.S. House candidate Matt Maasdam, $500 from Matt Maasdam For Congress through a payment made last August;
- Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens, over $3,600 from Hayley Stevens For Senate through payments made from last June through October;
- Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, $2,300 from Angie Craig For Minnesota through payments made from last September through December;
- Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, over $4,500 from Ilhan For Congress, through payments made from last March through October;
- Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford, $500 from Nevadans For Steven Horsford in a payment made last October;
- New York Rep. Dan Goldman, over $7,400 from Dan Goldman For New York, through payments made from last April through December;
- New York Rep. Joe Morelle, over $6,500 from Joe Morelle For Congress, through payments made from last April through December;
- Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, $4,500 from Jasmine For Us and $1,000 from Jasmine For Texas, through payments made from last March through this February;
- Texas Rep. Tom Suozzi, $5,000 from Suozzi for Congress in a payment made last July; and
- South Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Annie Andrews, over $4,200 from Dr. Annie Andrews For Senate, through payments made from last July through November
FEC records show FindRaiser raised nearly $67,500.
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