As Rep. Eric Swalwell announced he was ending his campaign for president, he also announced he will be running to keep his seat in the House of Representatives.
“You answered earlier, when you announced your candidacy, that you wouldn’t run for both,” a reporter said on Monday.
“I’d said that I wouldn’t seek both. Our attorneys had told us that you could run for both. That decision would not have come until December and that if we were still in it in December, I wouldn’t seek both,” Swalwell explained. “But, you know, the polls have had their way, so here we are in July.”
While a big name on cable news shows, it did not translate into popularity in the polls. Swalwell remained at 0% for much of his campaign, even after his performance in the first Democratic debates in June.
Swalwell said he is looking forward to go back to Congress to continue his work on the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees.
Before entering the race in April, Swalwell said he would give up his seat to run for president.
“Well, I think if you’re seeking a big job that would affect so many people, I think you have to assure the people you’re asking to vote for you that you’re not hedging and you don’t have a lifeboat waiting for you,” he said on the It’s All Political podcast in February.
He compared giving up his House seat with what Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés did when they landed in the Americas: “They stormed the land. And he had them burn the ships behind them so there was no looking back.”
