Rep. Eric Swalwell used an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Thursday evening to announce his candidacy for governor, because the state "needs a fighter and a protector, someone who will bring prices down, lift wages up."
"We can say that we're the fourth largest economy in the world, and we are, and I love to brag about that, but what does that mean if you can't afford to live here?" Swalwell, D-Dublin, said on the ABC late-night talk show.
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Swalwell becomes the ninth prominent candidate to join the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is barred by term limits from running for re- election, and second in two days.
Billionaire investor Tom Steyer announced his candidacy Wednesday.
Like Steyer, Swalwell sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, declaring his candidacy on April 8, 2019, and suspending his campaign July 8, 2019.
Swalwell was born Nov. 16,1980 in Sac City, Iowa and raised in Dublin. His father was a police officer and his mother ran a small business. They were both Republicans, as was Swalwell until 2003.
Swalwell was a member of the Dublin City Council from 2010-13 and has been a member of the House since 2013.
History is against Swalwell's chances of being elected governor. Since then-Attorney General Earl Warren defeated Gov. Culbert Olson in 1942, all of the state's governors had previously won statewide office, with the exceptions of Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had both been actors before beginning their campaigns.
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