Eric Swalwell, the East Bay congressman who never met a camera he didn't like or a scandal he couldn't stumble into, has suspended his campaign for California governor following sexual assault allegations.

Swalwell was considered a leading candidate in what's shaping up to be a crowded Democratic primary. That's over now. His opponents and even unions that had endorsed him called for him to step aside, and — for perhaps the first time in his career — Swalwell read the room.

Let's rewind for a moment. This is the same congressman who was famously entangled with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. That episode alone would have been a career-ender in a less forgiving political ecosystem. Instead, Swalwell kept climbing. Now, with sexual assault accusations surfacing just as he sought the state's top job, the pattern is hard to ignore. As one SF resident put it bluntly: "He was honey-trapped by some Chinese spy, now this accusation. Put them together and you see a pattern."

What's particularly galling is the response from Swalwell's legal team. His attorney sent a cease-and-desist letter arguing that the accuser's continued professional relationship with Swalwell after the alleged incidents undermined her credibility — essentially suggesting that staying cordial in a field where "reputation and connections mean everything" is proof nothing happened. That's not the exonerating argument they think it is.

The broader political intrigue here is worth noting too. The Democratic field for governor is bloated, and party leaders have been quietly urging lower-polling candidates to bow out to avoid splitting the vote. One Bay Area resident mused: "I'm wondering if they leaked this to thin out the field." Whether that's paranoia or political realism, it tells you something about the level of trust voters have in how the sausage gets made in Sacramento.

Here's the bottom line: voters deserve candidates who aren't dragging a trail of unresolved scandals behind them into higher office. It's baffling that anyone with this much baggage would have the audacity to run for governor in the first place. As one local put it: "It's crazy to me that people like this have the audacity to seek higher offices knowing full well they have several allegations waiting to come out."

Swalwell "suspended" his campaign, which in political speak means the door is technically still open. Don't hold your breath — and don't feel bad if you weren't paying attention yet. Another local resident summed it up perfectly: "I feel justified in my opinion to wait until a couple weeks before the actual election to do research."

Fair enough.