Why a Bay Area congressman is expected to jump into the ‘wide open’ California governor’s race this week

The buzz around Castro Valley-based U S Rep Eric Swalwell possibly jumping into a packed California s governor s race has grown to a fever pitch this week with allies posting and rapidly removing a fundraising page this past Sunday and the legislator booking an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday night Whether the East Bay representative finds success in what UC Berkeley Political Communications Professor Dan Schnur calls the most of wide-open race for the governor s office in years will be determined by how much attention Swalwell can garner by framing himself as the majority of anti-Trump candidate Schnur reported Gavin Newsom very effectively demonstrated during the Prop campaign that disliking Donald Trump is the majority unifying principle that California Democrats possess So for Swalwell tapping into that same anti-Trump sentiment makes good strategic sense Schnur reported And given the new debate surrounding Kimmel it s likely to be a fairly welcoming platform for an anti-Trump message Through six terms in the House of Representatives Swalwell has established himself as one of the the majority vocal opponents of President Donald Trump and his administration The former Alameda County prosecutor who lives in Livermore started his career in politics as a Dublin city councilmember before taking his career to Capitol Hill to represent parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties In Swalwell served as impeachment manager against President Donald Trump in the wake of the Jan insurrection Swalwell did not return requests for comment but those who have seen his political-strategy skills first-hand say that if he does enter the race he ll surprise a large number of voters who may not yet know him I can tell you he s a very driven campaigner and he works hard He s a fighter and he doesn t lose mentioned Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert who campaigned with Swalwell in If he did make that decision to run for governor he would be a strong candidate The governor s race is extremely competitive with candidates having already declared their ambition for the state s higher office The competition for voters attention is one of the primary keys to achievement next fall Schnur disclosed and that begins with a strong campaign launch The bulk politicians want to preserve the news value of an actual announcement Schnur revealed If Swalwell is going to run then taking advantage of a national platform like Jimmy Kimmel Live would be a very smart way to do it Swalwell is scheduled to appear on Kimmel s show Thursday night giving him a national platform with a late-night host who is a fellow adversary of the Trump administration ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live in September after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr criticized a controversial Kimmel joke about Trump s reaction to the shooting of the outspoken conservative commentator Charlie Kirk During Kimmel s suspension from ABC Swalwell wore a Jimmy Kimmel Live hat while he peppered Carr with questions about freedom of speech and the politicization of the FCC telling Carr to get a lawyer The second late-night comedian has been taken off the air because the president did not like a joke Swalwell explained during a House Judiciary meeting referencing CBS s plans to end the Late Show with Stephen Colbert It should shake every American that the president is firing comedians who make fun of him As a poll last Friday suggested Swalwell has a shot in a crowded gubernatorial field Menlo College political science professor Melissa Michelson outlined the congressman s biggest challenge name recognition Michelson pointed out that Swalwell unseated the previous incumbent of the th Congressional District Pete Stark in who had held the seat for years prior She added that Swalwell has this track record of defying expectations and winning office where most of people didn t expect him to win I wouldn t dismiss Eric Swalwell s chances Other competitors such as Katie Porter a former congresswoman who represented southern California s th District and Xavier Becerra an attorney and former U S secretary of strength and human services are two candidates that potentially are more recognizable than Swalwell Michelson declared She declared she s not sure Swalwell is one of those household names in state politics yet but that he could also use that to his advantage to sway voters already set against other candidates In a few procedures the Trump administration is helping Swalwell to get his name out there after the Federal Housing Finance Agency alleged the congressman had committed mortgage fraud this month again pitting him against the president and his allies And while billing himself as the the bulk anti-Trump candidate will be major to California Democrats Swalwell will need more than that to win Michelson announced If you ve heard anything about Swalwell these days it s because Trump is going after him Michelson mentioned But she added voters don t just want opposition They want politicians who care about them They re not just going to vote for you because you re anti-Trump