Stephen Cloobeck Drops Out of Gubernatorial Race

Real estate veteran Stephen Cloobeck, the former CEO of Diamond Resorts, has exited the California gubernatorial race.

The Democrat announced the decision on CNN Monday night seated next to longtime friend Rep. Eric Swalwell, whom he endorsed.

Cloobeck, a first-time candidate, raked in a staggering $13.6 million in the race, of which he contributed the majority.

“I didn’t intend to get in this race,” Cloobeck said. After interviewing the candidates and deeming none “qualified” for the job, the time-share entrepreneur decided to jump into the race last November.

Now with Swalwell entering the fray, Cloobeck decided to drop out and merge their 2026 campaigns. Cloobeck’s campaign website redirects to Swalwell’s page. Cloobeck called Swalwell, a Democrat who represents California’s 14th Congressional District in the East Bay, “a man of integrity, and of character and values and a great leader.”

Swalwell, a former Republican who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, launched his campaign last week during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

“Our state, this great state, needs a fighter and a protector,” Swalwell said to Kimmel.

He has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and has served on the House Intelligence, Judiciary and Homeland Security committees.

“I’ve been in these fights as a City Council member up in Dublin, my hometown, as a prosecutor in Oakland and taking on the most corrupt president ever in the U.S. Congress, but I’m ready to bring this fight home,” Swalwell said.

Swalwell is the latest Democratic official to be referred to the Department of Justice for a potential federal criminal probe into alleged mortgage and tax fraud, based on a letter from Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Swalwell was accused of mortgage and tax fraud related to a home in Washington, D.C., NBC News reported.

“As the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade, and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him, the only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me,” Swalwell said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Swalwell announced that he filed a civil lawsuit against Pulte for “violating the Privacy Act and First Amendment.”

“Director Pulte has combed through private records of political opponents,” Swalwell said in a statement. “To silence them. There’s a reason the First Amendment — the freedom of speech — comes before all others.”

Cloobeck’s camp didn’t immediately respond to The Real Deal’s request for comment.