Originally published at: How Swalwell’s Implosion Affects An Already Weird California Governor’s Race - TPM – Talking Points Memo
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) suspended his gubernatorial campaign Sunday after four women accused him of sexual misconduct or assault. One woman, a former staffer of the congressman, told the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN that Swalwell sexually assaulted her twice, in 2019 and 2024. Another woman told CNN that she woke up in Swalwell’s hotel…
An accurate encapsulation of the current situation with the California Governor’s race, thank you, I appreciate that.
But I have an objection. The term “Jungle Primary”.
What is the etymology of that slang term? Does anyone know? Who coined it?
Because it sounds pretty racist to me. I’m not going to reference the many slurs on Black Folks and Indigenous people that have involved the word “Jungle”, but it is an ugly way of describing a system that is probably fairer than previous primary voting systems.
Thoughts?
From an outsider’s perspective, Porter seems the best choice, no?
2 Likes
Apologies for the length, but I plugged in two prompts into Gemini (I know… I know…), and got the following:
Where did the term “jungle primary” come from?
Summary
The term “jungle primary” originated in Louisiana during the 1970s. It refers to a nonpartisan blanket primary system where all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, appear on the same ballot. The “jungle” metaphor suggests a “law of the jungle” environment—a competitive free-for-all where only the top two finishers survive to the general election.
Origin and History
The system was championed by Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards and officially implemented in 1975.
Prior to this, Louisiana (like much of the South at the time) was dominated by the Democratic Party. The “real” election happened in the Democratic primary, leaving the general election as a mere formality. Edwards pushed for the “open primary” to consolidate the process and reduce the cost and duration of campaigning.
Etymology: Why “Jungle”?
While “nonpartisan blanket primary” is the formal technical name, “jungle primary” became the popular shorthand for several reasons:
-
The “Survival of the Fittest” Mentality: Because candidates from the same party must compete against one another alongside the opposition, the political environment is seen as more chaotic and ruthless than a traditional primary.
-
Political Darwinism: The term implies a “law of the jungle” where party loyalty is secondary to individual survival. It was likely coined by political consultants or journalists to describe the unpredictable nature of having multiple Democrats and Republicans cannibalizing each other’s vote shares on a single ballot.
How It Works
In a jungle primary:
-
Universal Ballot: All candidates are listed together.
-
Majority Rule: If a candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, they are elected outright (in Louisiana’s specific version).
-
The Runoff: If no one hits 50%, the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of their party. This can result in two Republicans or two Democrats facing off in the final round.
Current Usage
While Louisiana is the most famous practitioner, other states have adopted similar “Top-Two” systems, including Washington (2008) and California (2010). However, political scientists often distinguish between Louisiana’s unique “majority-win” system and the “Top-Two” systems used elsewhere.
Confidence Level: High
Sources:
Then:
Is it racist?
Summary
Whether the term “jungle primary” is considered racist is a subject of ongoing debate. While it was not originally coined as an explicit racial slur—intended instead to describe a chaotic, “survival of the fittest” political environment—many modern linguists, journalists, and politicians now view it as racially insensitive or problematic due to the historical use of the word “jungle” as a pejorative trope.
The Argument for Racial Insensitivity
The primary concern stems from the historical context of the word “jungle.” In Western history, “the jungle” has often been used as a colonialist metaphor to describe non-Western regions as “savage,” “uncivilized,” or “lawless.”
-
Historical Trope: Critics argue that using the word “jungle” to describe a political system—especially in a state like Louisiana with a deep history of racial tension—unconsciously invokes stereotypes of “savagery” versus “civilization.”
-
Contextual Associations: Because the term suggests a lack of order or a return to a “primitive” state, many advocacy groups argue it carries a coded bias that is unnecessary in professional political discourse.
The Argument for Political Metaphor
Those who defend the term or view it as neutral argue that it is a purely Darwinian metaphor.
-
Political Darwinism: In this view, the “jungle” refers to the “law of the jungle,” where there are no party protections, and candidates must fight everyone else to survive.
-
Original Intent: When it gained popularity in the 1970s, it was used by political consultants to describe the unpredictable nature of the ballot, where traditional party lines vanished.
The Shift in Modern Usage
In recent years, there has been a significant move away from the term in professional and academic circles:
-
Media Style Guides: Many major news organizations, including the Associated Press (AP) and NPR, have issued guidance to avoid the term “jungle primary.” They recommend using more descriptive, technical terms like “nonpartisan blanket primary” or “top-two primary.”
-
Political Neutrality: Election officials generally prefer “open primary” or “qualifying election” to ensure the language used is formal and does not carry unintended connotations.
Conclusion
While you will still hear the term used frequently by political pundits, it is increasingly seen as an outdated and insensitive colloquialism. Using the technical name for the system is generally considered the more professional and inclusive approach.
Confidence Level: High
Sources:
8 Likes
You reportedly wouldn’t want to be an insider of Porter’s.
4 Likes
I grant that those stories about her treatment of staff are not nice. But I also wonder how much of that comes from women being held to higher standards. No matter what, we wimmenfolk earn a “b*tch” label much faster than any man in power.
16 Likes
It’s pretty clear that the Porter stories were meant to undercut here using the usual trope of “the bossy woman”…it didn’t sound like it was anything different than you might hear from a male candidate, and that wouldn’t make any news. And the story basically died right there, so it might not have been more than a few incidents where she was grumpy for whatever reason instead of continuous behavior.
Swalwell always seemed a bit slimy, so I guess it’s no surprise he’s been sleeping around and partying pretty hard with his staffers and others. Makes you wonder how prevalent that kind of behavior really is in our political leaders…there’s a story there that likely won’t get reported. Porter seems like the biggest benefactor of this, I’m not sure that Democrats in CA will be interested in electing a billionaire as governor…but that may be my personal bias, I just don’t trust him and won’t be voting for him. This may open things up for a dark horse to slip into Swalwell’s spot, there are plenty…all this does is extend the time the also rans will stay in hoping to get enough notice to be relevant. We’ll see what the polling says in a couple weeks.
The House has two Democrats and two Republicans that might be up for expulsion…any bets on what happens? I’d bet on Johnson pushing the Democrats out ASAP and sitting on the Republicans as long as he can get away with, just because he sucks like that.
8 Likes
What did I miss?
OK, if this is all it was, that’s pretty weak sauce.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/08/katie-porter-tears-into-staffer-new-video-00598942
6 Likes
I agree with this prediction.
3 Likes
No politician I can think of suspended a viable campaign over accusations that aren’t true. That said, Swalwell should come clean and let voters decide whether or not to forgive him, however unlikely.
If only he were a Rethugliklan, it would up his poll numbers. (I wish I were saying that in jest. Alas.)
5 Likes
Nobody’s calling for Trump to leave the White House for his sexual assaults. Nobody was pushing to get the two Republicans credibly accused of their issues. I wish that Democrats would at least ALWAYS talk about Trump and the Republicans whenever Swalwell’s situation comes up.
That said, I’m glad he dropped out of the Governor’s race. Porter proved an effective attack dog as a US Representative, but can she run anything? Steyer’s got a lot more depth and breadth of experience - but he’s a billionaire. Tough choice.
3 Likes
Being a billionaire and the optics of that is my biggest issue with Steyer, plus I’m not sure he’s ever done anything within government. I would think the LAST thing CA would want is someone trying to run things like a business. We’ve seen how that turns out.
9 Likes
One woman, a former staffer of the congressman, told the [San Francisco Chronicle) that Swalwell sexually assaulted her twice, in 2019 and 2024.
Not to blame the victim but why did she go back to work for him in 2024?
3 Likes
I haven’t lived in Cal for many years, but family still does, so I try to keep up with the political landscape. Hard for me to understand what Porter’s appeal is statewide. Winning a House seat in OC is easier than getting votes in red counties just east and north of Sonoma. Or in the southeast above San Bernadino. I’m sure there are population/ideological changes happening that I don’t know about. But even LA is filled with quite a few MAGAs now. And unless they are too demoralized to bother voting, the top two system could really be tough for Dems.
Steyer just appears to me like a slightly better version of Bloomberg, with better environmental policy. But he’s still a self-funding billionaire, and a cypher.
I lived through too many Republican governorships in my California youth to feel that any of the current Dem candidates are in a strong position.
2 Likes
Because her entire career in politics was due to her association with Swalwell.
5 Likes
I think Javier Becerra would be a strong candidate, but seems to be getting very little traction. He was a 2 term congressman, California Attorney General, and Biden’s HHS Secretary. Solid record on crime, healthcare and the environment.
Katie Porter was my rep before redistricting, and I liked the way she took on fat cats (e.g. Jamie Dimon et al) in committee hearings. She would be my second choice.
11 Likes
I, too, have asked myself the same question.
Forgot to mention FL Republican Cory Mills, whose ex-girlfriend got an order of protection against him after a series of outrageous threats. So that’s two Dems and two Republicans who now may be expelled. That, of course, would be a wash in terms of House control, so the parties may make a deal to throw out all four items of dirty laundry at once since it won’t make any difference in the balance of power.
On a lighter note, I was driving this afternoon and listening to a pundit who was making the point that the other three might have skated through with censures only, but now that these awful charges have come out against Swalwell, he may take the other three out, too. The pundit then created a delightful mixed cliche by opining that the Swalwell accusations constituted “the straw that went too far.” This is on a par with the basketball announcer who, discussing a team down by 25 at the half, said that in the second half, they really “had their hands cut out for them.”
5 Likes
From a Californian’s perspective, no, she would not be the best choice. She is viewed as problematic (accusing Adam Schiff of voter fraud in the Senate election, ineffective as a representative [0 bills enacted, missed twice as many votes as the rest of the CA delegation], staffing issues, and anger issues, to name a few).
Even though Swalwell was my representative, Xavier Becerra has been my choice. He doesn’t have the name recognition that Katie Porter does because of her whiteboard, but he was a congressman, a CA attorney general and was the HHS secretary under Biden. To me, he’s the most qualified.
My algorithm on TikTok is starting to show a push for Becerra now that Swalwell has been, er, exposed. But that same algorithm knows I’m supporting Becerra, so I don’t trust it to be accurate in representing what is happening.
10 Likes