A sleepy race to succeed Gavin Newsom as California Governor just got a little bit of a jolt, as Senator Adam Schiff publicly put his chips on East Bay House Representative Eric Swalwell.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is termed out of office once the November 2026 election rolls around, though interestingly, no one is really paying much attention yet to the race to replace Newsom. We have eight credible Democrats running, and splitting up the vote so much that some pollsters have Republican candidates currently winning the race. So it behooves these Democratic candidates to do something to shake up the contest.

Would the endorsement of California Senator Adam Schiff do anything for you? Candidate Eric Swalwell sure hopes so, as Politico reports that Schiff has endorsed Swalwell in the Governor’s race. This is not a huge surprise, as Schiff and Swalwell were longtime colleagues in the US House of Representatives, and worked together closely on the two first-term impeachments of President Trump.  

“What I saw then, and what I know now, is that Eric is fully prepared to get things done and deliver for the Golden State, even as he will fight to protect our values, rights and freedoms,” Schiff said in a statement to Politico.

Okay yes that is a very formulaic endorsement statement. But Swalwell seems to be doing okay for a candidate who just declared he’s running two months ago. Politico reports that Swalwell is running second among the whole field in fundraising, behind only billionaire Tom Steyer, who is merely just spending his own fortune on the race.    

Thus far, big-time Dem influencers like Gavin himself and Nancy Pelosi have not weighed in with endorsements. And Politico reports that the California Democratic Party is unlikely to produce an endorsement because there are so many candidates.

Those are decisions that may come back to haunt Democrats in the June 2 primary election. After all, if no Democrat seizes any momentum before then, we could be looking at two Republicans sweeping both of the top two spots in that primary election, and then having no Democrats on the ballot in November.

Related: Rep. Eric Swalwell Officially Launches Campaign for California Governor [SFist]

Image: WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 25: U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) (R), joined by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), speaks at a press conference on committee assignments for the 118th U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) recently rejected the reappointments of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to the House Intelligence Committee and has threatened to stop Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)