Stephen Cloobeck, the billionaire real-estate mogul who bankrolled Eric Swalwell's campaign for California governor, says he threw the congressman out of his $26 million Beverly Hills mansion and severed all ties after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced, then declared he was done with the Democratic Party for good.
Cloobeck told the New York Post he cut ties with Swalwell on Sunday, just hours before Swalwell announced he would suspend his gubernatorial campaign. A day later, Swalwell said he would resign from his seat in the House. The speed of the collapse, from benefactor's guest bedroom to political exile in a matter of days, tells its own story about the fragility of a candidacy built on someone else's generosity.
The break came after multiple women accused Swalwell of sexual assault and misconduct, prompting calls for his resignation and a reported investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Cloobeck, who said he had spent more than a million dollars backing Swalwell's candidacy, told reporters he would never have endorsed the congressman had he known about the allegations.
The 9,700-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion had served as Swalwell's staging ground. He had stayed there with Cloobeck, Cloobeck's fiancée, and others. Cloobeck had referred to Swalwell as his "little brother" only a week before the rupture. He had offered the congressman a $31,000 trip to France in 2024. The relationship, by Cloobeck's own description, was close and longstanding.
Then it wasn't. As the New York Post reported, Cloobeck described a blunt final confrontation. He said he told Swalwell directly that the trust was broken.
"I just told him: 'You busted the trust.'... I'm shocked, I'm disturbed and get the f, out of here."
Cloobeck also said he would provide Swalwell with "zero financial help" going forward and indicated he wanted to consult a lawyer about recovering the more than $1 million he had poured into the campaign. That is a remarkable reversal for a man who, by his own account, treated Swalwell like family.
Swalwell had been dodging congressional votes while campaigning from the Beverly Hills estate, raising questions well before the misconduct allegations about the arrangement's propriety and about how seriously Swalwell took his duties in Washington.
On Friday, April 11, Swalwell posted a video to his official X account denying the allegations. He looked into the camera and delivered his defense.
"Hear it directly from me. These allegations are flat false. And I will fight them."
He also acknowledged he had "certainly made mistakes in judgment." The Daily Caller noted that Swalwell filmed that denial video inside Cloobeck's Beverly Hills mansion, the same home he would be ejected from days later. The juxtaposition is hard to miss: Swalwell used his patron's property to proclaim his innocence, then lost the patron entirely.
Within hours of Cloobeck's public break, Swalwell suspended his candidacy for governor. Within a day, he announced he would resign from Congress. The timeline suggests the loss of his financial lifeline accelerated a political collapse already in motion.
Cloobeck did not stop at cutting off one candidate. He declared he was leaving the party he had supported for what he called "almost 40-year plus." His language left little room for ambiguity.
"F, ing tell everyone I'm a libertarian. F, you, Democrat Party. I'm a libertarian now."
He also told reporters he planned to change his party registration. "I'm going to change my Godd, party affiliation, because I cannot stand this Democratic Party at all," Cloobeck said. He added: "I am done. Finito."
The Washington Examiner reported that Cloobeck described himself as "no longer a Democrat" and said he had reversed his endorsement entirely. "There's no way I would've endorsed him," Cloobeck said, referring to Swalwell. He had originally backed Swalwell after ending his own run for governor.
Fox News reported that Cloobeck later told Fox 11 Los Angeles, "I am now a Republican." Fox News also noted that Cloobeck had backed Swalwell since 2017 and donated $23,400 to his campaigns between 2017 and 2023, separate from the larger gubernatorial spending.
Whether Cloobeck's final landing spot is libertarian, Republican, or some hybrid, the direction is clear. A longtime Democratic megadonor walked away from the party publicly, profanely, and without equivocation.
Swalwell's troubles did not begin with the misconduct allegations. He had already drawn scrutiny for his reversal on transparency when he moved to block the release of Chinese intelligence files, a sharp turn for a congressman who had built his brand on accountability rhetoric.
The misconduct allegations triggered a broader political response. A Florida Republican moved to expel Swalwell from Congress, and the Manhattan DA's office reportedly opened an investigation. The speed with which Swalwell's position became untenable reflected not just the severity of the accusations but the absence of any institutional defense from his own party.
Cloobeck himself acknowledged uncertainty about where the facts would lead. "I don't know where these facts are going to end up, you hear or read all this stuff," he said. But he made clear that the breach of trust was enough on its own. He described himself as generous and kind, "I built a gorgeous place, my dream home, I relish it, and I'm a very generous man. I'm very thoughtful, and I'm very kind", and framed Swalwell's conduct as a betrayal of that generosity.
A Republican-led expulsion effort in Congress added institutional pressure on top of the personal and financial fallout Swalwell was already facing.
Swalwell's implosion removes one candidate from what was already a crowded and fractious California governor's race. The disarray among California Democrats predated this episode, but losing a candidate under these circumstances, and watching a billionaire donor publicly defect from the party, deepens the damage.
Cloobeck's departure is not just a personal grudge against one politician. His language targeted the party itself. He did not say the party failed to vet Swalwell. He said he could not stand the Democratic Party "at all." After nearly four decades of loyalty, that is a sweeping indictment.
Several open questions remain. It is unclear whether Cloobeck has formally changed his voter registration or whether his attorney has taken any steps toward recovering the campaign funds. The specific allegations that triggered the break have been described in broad terms, multiple women, sexual assault and misconduct, but the legal proceedings, if any, are still developing.
What is not in doubt is the outcome. A billionaire who opened his home, his wallet, and his personal life to a Democratic congressman watched that investment collapse in a matter of days. He responded by throwing the congressman out, demanding his money back, and torching his party membership on the way to the exit.
When your biggest donor tells the world to go ahead and spread the news that he's done with your party, the problem is not one bad candidate. It's the institution that produced him.
