Update: A Capitol Hill source told Mark Z. Barabak of The Los Angeles Times that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) will drop out of the primary on Monday.
Rumors began to swirl over the weekend that Swalwell would drop out of the running to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020.
Last week, Swalwell canceled two appearances at Independence Day events in New Hampshire, the East Bay Citizen reported. Then, Sunday night, his campaign sent out a press release announcing a press conference for Monday afternoon.
The press conference will be held at 1 pm. Pacific Time in Dublin, California, where his campaign is headquartered. No further information was provided. Swalwell has failed to capture any significant support in the polls, and doesn’t even appear on Real Clear Politics’ polling average.
Swalwell’s campaign never really took off, and his inauthenticity shadowed him in the months after he announced. For example, at the end of May, Swalwell tweeted a video where he claimed he knew “when to pass the mic” to a woman.
“I may be ‘another white guy,’ but I know where there are gaps in my knowledge or my experience and I know when to pass the mic.”
The tweet included a video of him discussing this issue with a woman, who asks him: “Why should another white guy be president?”
“Well, a white guy who doesn’t see other identities or understand other experiences should not be president. I do,” Swalwell responded. “And where there would be gaps in my knowledge or my experience, I will pass the mic to people who do have that experience. I’ve also pledged that I would ask a woman to serve as vice president.”
The tweet was met with mockery as many people asked why he doesn’t just pass a mic to one of the women candidates instead of running himself.
Swalwell also failed to connect with crowds, leading to awkward moments. As The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra previously reported, an audience remained silent when Swalwell paused after what he believed was an applause line.
“I will always be real with you,” Swalwell had said. “I will be bold without the bull.”
No one applauded.
He also thought he could work up the crowd by claiming the Democrats running for office were “The Avengers,” and Republicans were like “The Hunger Games.” His pop culture references also fell flat.
The East Bay Citizen reported that Swalwell would likely not qualify for the second round of Democrat primary debates, as the requirements to appear were “significantly increased.”
“They were further downgraded last week when Montana Gov. Steve Bullock greatly increased his chances of making it to the debate stage,” the Citizen reported. “During the first round of debates last month, Swalwell squeaked in, in part, due to Bullock failing to receive at least one percent in a Democratic Party-sanctioned poll.”
Though Swalwell may drop out, the Democrat primary field appears as though it will not actually shrink. On Sunday, Politico reported that billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer planned to announce he would enter the crowded field. Steyer has been the top political spender in recent election cycles, without a demonstrated pattern of success.