Betty Yee Suspends California Governor Campaign After Eric Swalwell Exit Over Sexual Assault Allegations

Former state controller Betty Yee suspended her campaign for California governor on Monday, just over a week after fellow Democrat and former US Rep. Eric Swalwell left the race following sexual assault allegations that he denies.

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Yee, who was “vying to be the first woman to hold the state’s highest office,” had been trying to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a contest that CNN described as “crowded” and “unpredictable.”

ABC7 Los Angeles

Reuters and other reporting in the provided sources emphasize that the race remains crowded even after Yee’s exit, with “six established Democrats and two leading Republicans on a ballot with more than 50 names.”

CBS News California Investigates reported that Yee described the race as “unpredictable and turbulent,” and said she had “sadness for sure” as she stepped aside.

Yee told CBS News that “I don’t see a path” to making it to the primary, and she said “the donors were not there” as part of her decision.

Even with her withdrawal, ABC7 Los Angeles and CNN both reported that “voters will still see Yee's name on the ballot in the June 2 primary,” because “At this stage of the campaign, Yee’s name cannot be removed.”

The timing matters because mail ballots are scheduled to go to voters in early May, ahead of the June 2 primary election, according to CNN.

Yee’s exit was framed by multiple outlets as a response to polling, fundraising, and the structure of California’s “jungle primary” system.

CNN reported that she “lagged in fundraising and failed to break into the leading tier of candidates in polling since entering the contest in 2024,” and it said she “tried to pitch herself” as “who focuses on solutions rather than soundbites” and as “boring Betty.”

CalMatters

CalMatters added that Yee said voters didn’t appear interested in her “experience and competence,” instead flocking toward candidates who made “splashier statements,” and it quoted her: “It was becoming clear that the donors were not going to be there.”

In CBS News’ interview, Yee described the decision as driven by “hard political realities,” including “polling that showed voters weren't prioritizing experience and competence,” and she said “I don't see a path to really making it to the primary.”

She also tied the campaign’s narrowing dynamics to donor behavior, telling CBS News that “It's really put a chill on, frankly, my donors.”

KTVU similarly reported that Yee cited “a lack of financial support and a disappointing shift in voter priorities,” and she said “I think what has changed is the whole notion that voters are looking for experience and competence.”

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Yee told the paper, “We just thought that experience and competence would poll much higher than what it’s been polling,” and it said she had not discussed her exit with rivals while planning to endorse someone “in the coming days.”

Beyond campaign mechanics, Yee’s comments in the CBS News interview and KTVU’s reporting emphasized disappointment about support from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and the personal strain of the race.

“In summary Progressive former state Controller Betty Yee said voters didn’t appear interested in her “experience and competence,” instead flocking toward candidates who made splashier statements”

CalMatters

CBS News California Investigates said Yee spoke “openly about a deeper disappointment” that “support from within the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, which she had hoped would rally behind her historic candidacy, never fully materialized.”

In KTVU’s account of her emotional announcement, Yee asked, “Where was my community?” and she said “We had an opportunity to make history. I did not see them there as I had robustly in the past with respect to my donors.”

KTVU also reported that Yee said “Even some of the endorsing organizations were looking at this quite late,” tying the community disappointment to the timing of backing.

CBS News reported that Yee described “the personal toll of the race,” including “the emotional strain on her family,” and it quoted her describing her husband as her “superpower.”

In the CBS News interview, Yee told host Julie Watts that she felt “sadness for sure,” describing “this has been a two-year journey,” and she said she was “not done” with public service.

ABC7 Los Angeles similarly described the announcement as emotional and quoted Yee thanking her family: “To my family, especially my siblings, their emotional and financial support and sacrifice always, I just thank them.”

After Yee’s exit, the sources describe a race still shaped by polling and by which candidates meet debate thresholds.

CNN said Yee’s withdrawal leaves “six established Democrats and two leading Republicans on a ballot with more than 50 names,” and it described the primary as a system where “only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party.”

CNN

Newsweek reported that multiple polls taken since Swalwell’s exit show Republican candidate Steve Hilton leading, and it included Emerson College polling of 1,000 likely voters in the California primary on April 14 and April 15, where Hilton received “17 percent of respondents” and Chad Bianco received “14 percent.”

Newsweek also reported that Democratic candidate Tom Steyer received “14 percent,” former Representative Katie Porter and former Biden Health Secretary Xavier Becerra each received “10 percent,” and it said “23 percent” were undecided.

In an Evitarus poll of 1,200 likely voters taken from April 15 to April 17, Newsweek said “16 percent” would vote for Hilton and “14 percent” would vote for Bianco, while Becerra and Steyer each had “13 percent” and Porter had “10 percent,” with “20 percent” undecided.

NewsNation added a different angle by reporting that three Democrats—Tony Thurmond, Antonio Villaraigosa and Betty Yee—would not appear at a Wednesday April 22 debate because they did not meet a Nexstar polling threshold, while “two Republicans and four Democrats” accepted invitations.

CalMatters reported that after Swalwell dropped out, Xavier Becerra “surged to 13%,” and it said “About 20% of likely voters remain undecided.”

The stakes of Yee’s exit, as described across the sources, are tied to California’s top-two primary math and to the possibility of Democrats being shut out of the general election.

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CNN reported that Democrats have “feared the party’s large number of candidates could lead to them getting shut out of the general election in November,” because “California has a primary system in which only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election.”

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The San Francisco Chronicle similarly said Yee’s exit would “boost her party’s chances of having at least one candidate make it through to the general election,” and it explained that California has an “unusual ‘jungle primary’ system” where “the top two vote-getters in the primary, regardless of party, advance to the general election.”

CalMatters reported that the party’s concern was that “two Republicans could possibly win the top-two primary election in June,” and it said Yee’s exit came as the race entered “its most expensive phase yet” with multiple candidates launching television ads.

The Chronicle also connected the political shakeup to President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Steve Hilton, saying “President Donald Trump endorsed one of the Republicans — former Fox News host Steve Hilton,” and it said that made it “less likely” that Bianco would shore up enough votes to make the top two.

Newsweek and CNN both described the continuing presence of Yee and Swalwell on the ballot despite their exits, with CNN saying “At this stage of the campaign, Yee’s name cannot be removed,” and the Chronicle noting that “Because they dropped out after the deadline, Swalwell’s and Yee’s names will both stillappear on the ballot.”

Fox40 and SFist described internal party pressure and polling efforts, including Rusty Hicks’ calls and weekly polling through April, as the race heads toward the June 2 primary.