The candidate for California governor whose superpower may Trump the rest | Opinion

All eight Democrats running for governor will tell tales, some more aggressively than others, about being ready to fight President Donald Trump immediately after taking the oath of office in Sacramento early next year. This message plays great with California Democrats.

But only one Democrat running for governor in California has made Trump flinch and that tells you everything you need to know about why Rep. Eric Swalwell’s campaign has gained support among political insiders.

As the only member of Congress running in a crowded field, Swalwell occupies prime real estate in Trump’s head for managing Trump’s second impeachment, for suing the federal government, for his ubiquitous presence on cable news shows and for triggering Trump as much or more than U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, who has endorsed Swalwell’s gubernatorial run.

In an undemocratic but unsurprising development, FBI Director Kash Patel directed agents in San Francisco to begin rapidly redacting a decade-old, closed investigative file involving a Chinese intelligence operative who had cultivated relationships with Swalwell and other Bay Area politicians. The file produced no charges, no findings of wrongdoing, and was reviewed by a Republican-led House Ethics Committee that took no action. No matter. The administration has discussed sending agents to China to find a witness. They have floated offering a U.S. visa in exchange for damaging information on a sitting congressman.

If this sounds eerily similar to Trump urging President Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine to investigate former President Joe Biden in exchange for arms against a Russian invasion, it should. This is how authoritarians behave.

This is also the price Swalwell is paying for seeking to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. And being in Trump’s crosshairs comes at great personal costs for Swalwell and his family. But politically, it raises Swalwell’s profile as a national figure fighting Trump and the MAGA movement. No other Democrat running for governor can claim this.

What about polls that show Californians deeply concerned about affordability? Isn’t California failing working-class and middle-class voters? It’s all true and fighting Trump has little to do with the pocketbook issues that make California a tough place to live for too many. But it’s also true that Newsom has a national profile for fighting Trump, despite his shared failures with the Legislature on housing, homelessness and affordability.

California Democrats are scrapping for a fight and looking for the best gladiator to step into the arena. They are also straining to choose between eight Democrats trying to make an impression with voters ahead of the June primary.

What Swalwell can do about state policies driving up gas prices, or housing costs driving people out of California, is unlikely to lift his name recognition two months until Election Day. But fighting a president weaponizing the Justice Department, the FBI and the federal bureaucracy against his perceived enemies in California and beyond?

In that context, Swalwell could succeed Newsom and Schiff as California politicians known more for standing up to Trump than everything else.

California is expected to be at the tip of the spear of national resistance.

The average Democratic voter is rightfully concerned with the policy failures of Sacramento. Trust in state policymakers is at an all-time low. Economic anxiety is real, and it cuts across every demographic, every region, every political stripe. The coalition that has served California Democrats well for a generation in California politics is coming apart as working class voters of color are straying from a party increasingly dominated by white college educated progressives. Any serious candidate for governor has to grapple with those realities, and the Democratic field is rife with serious people with serious experience and diverse perspectives.

But the voters are screaming and this is not a normal moment. California is not being asked to make a normal choice. Policy experience takes a back seat to political stridence.

Swalwell’s rise could be indicative of how much Democrats want a governor willing to oppose everything Trump’s administration represents.

Newsom used the governor’s office as a platform for national resistance without apology. While I have been both publicly critical of Newsom, I can say unequivocally he has met the moment of determined opposition required of his job. Period. California Democrats want a successor who will do the same.

The voters of this state will weigh affordability, housing, and economic policy. They should. These issues are not going away regardless of who becomes governor. But voters are also choosing a governor in the middle of a constitutional crisis. The résumé item that matters most is the one you can’t manufacture. Swalwell has already made the most powerful man in the country angry and the FBI soon was on Swalwell’s tail.

Swalwell didn’t ask for that distinction, but California Democrats are learning about him one month before ballots begin landing in mailboxes across the state. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Mike Madrid is a political analyst and a special correspondent for McClatchy Media.