Eric Swalwell

official U.S. Congress photo of Eric Swalwell c. 2016

Birth Name: Eric Michael Swalwell

Place of Birth: Sac City, Iowa, U.S.

Date of Birth: November 16, 1980

Ethnicity:
*25% British Isles [English, Scottish]
*25% Portuguese [Azorean, Madeiran]
*25% Swedish
*25% Danish

Eric Swalwell is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California, since January 3, 2013. He was previously a member of the Member of the Dublin City Council, from December 2010 to January 2, 2013.

He was a candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 2020.

He was born in Sac City, Iowa, and was raised in Dublin, California. Eric is the son of Vicky Joe (Erickson) and Eric Nelson Swalwell, who was police chief of Algona, Iowa. He is married to sales director Brittany Ann Watts, with whom he has two children.

Eric is one of the first three people born in the 1980s to have run a prominent campaign for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States, along with Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Buttigieg, all of whom sought the 2020 Democratic nomination.

Eric is also the first person of significant Portuguese heritage to have mounted a notable campaign for a major party’s presidential nomination.

Eric’s paternal grandfather was Jack/John William Swalwell (the son of John/Jonathan William Swalwell and Jeanne Marie Wingate). Eric’s grandfather Jack was born in Florida. Eric’s great-grandfather John was born in England, the son of John William Swalwell, who was English, and of Jessie Farguheson/Farquharson, who was Scottish. Jeanne was born in Oklahoma, the daughter of Charles Franklin Wingate and Fannie Clementine Smith.

Eric’s paternal grandmother is Patricia Cabral (the daughter of Peter R. Cabral and Emma/Emmalee Carlos). Patricia was born in Hawaii, of Portuguese descent. Emma was born in Hilo, Hawaii. Her father was Joao/John Carlos Medeiros, Jr., whose own father was from São Miguel and whose own mother was from São Jorge, both in the Azores, Portugal. Emma’s mother was Alisandrina “Alice” Fernandes, whose father was from Caniço and whose mother was from Funchal, both in the Madeira archipelago.

Eric’s maternal grandfather was Delbert Loraine Erickson (the son of Gustav Erickson/Ericksson and Johanna Johnson). Delbert was born in South Dakota, to Swedish parents. Gustav was the son of Johan Ericksson and Lovisa, who were born in Dalarna. Johanna was the daughter of Erik Matsson/Johnson and Anna Marie Matsdotter, who were born in Leksand, Dalarna, Sweden.

Eric’s maternal grandmother was Myrtle Hoyer (the daughter of Otto Hoyer and Mary Katherine Keldsen/Kjeldsen). Myrtle was born in South Dakota, to Danish parents. Otto was the son of Laruds Hoyer and Marie. Eric’s great-grandmother Mary Katherine was the daughter of Laruds Kelasen/Keldsen/Kjeldsen and Margaret.

Two people of heavily Scandinavian ancestry have served as Vice President of the United States, Hubert Humphrey, from January 20, 1965 to January 20, 1969, and Walter Mondale, from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981. Both were members of the Democratic Party.

Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale were also the two people of heavily Scandinavian ancestry who were nominated for President of the United States by a major party, Humphrey in 1968 and Mondale in 1984, both by the Democratic Party.

Mondale was also the Democratic Party’s nominee for re-election as Vice President in 1980. Aside of Humphrey and Mondale, three people of heavily Scandinavian ancestry have been nominated for Vice President of the United States by a major party. They were/are:
*Earl Warren (1948; Republican; Warren was of Norwegian and Swedish descent)
*Lloyd Bentsen (1988, Democratic; Bentsen’s father was of Danish descent)
*Tim Walz (2024, Democratic; Walz’s paternal grandmother was of Swedish descent)

Eric is one of several people of heavily Scandinavian ancestry to have run a plausible or semi-plausible campaign for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States. Of these candidates, several won a major party’s caucus and/or primary. They were:
*Earl Warren (who sought the 1936, 1944, 1948, and 1952 Republican nominations; each time, won 1 state, California)
*Charles A. Christopherson (who sought the 1944 Republican nomination; won 1 state, South Dakota; Christopherson’s parents were Norwegian)
*Hubert Humphrey (Democratic; in 1952, he won 1 state, Minnesota; in 1960, he won 2 states; in 1972, he won 5 states)
*Joe Foss (who sought the 1956 Republican nomination; won 1 state, South Dakota; Foss’s father was of Norwegian descent)
*Henry M. Jackson (Democratic; ran in 1972 and 1976: in 1976, he won 4 contests; Jackson’s parents were Norwegian)
*Walter Mondale (1984, the year he was nominated; Democratic; won 20 contests)

Other people of heavily Scandinavian heritage who have mounted plausible or semi-plausible campaigns for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States are:
*George T. Mickelson (who sought the 1952 Republican nomination; Mickelson’s father was Norwegian)
*Pat Paulsen (who sought the 1968, 1972, 1980, 1988, 1992, and 1996 nominations, usually Democratic; Paulsen’s father was Norwegian)
*Frank Carlson (who sought the 1968 Republican nomination; Carlson’s parents were Swedish)
*Lloyd Bentsen (who sought the 1976 Democratic nomination)
*John B. Anderson (who sought the 1980 Republican nomination, and was later an independent 1980 candidate; Anderson’s father was Swedish and Anderson’s mother was of Swedish descent)
*Bob Smith (who sought the 2000 Republican nomination; Smith’s paternal grandfather was of Danish descent)
*Gary Johnson (who sought the 2012 Republican nomination, and was the Libertarian Party’s 2012 and 2016 nominee for President of the United States; Johnson’s father was adopted by Danish and Norwegian parents, and was possibly himself of Scandinavian descent)
*Michele Bachmann (who sought the 2012 Republican nomination; Bachmann is of Norwegian descent)
*Jon Huntsman, Jr. (who sought the 2012 Republican nomination; Huntsman is of one eighth Swedish, one eighth Norwegian, and one sixteenth Danish, descent)
*Perry Johnson (who sought the 2024 Republican nomination; Johnson’s father was of Swedish and Norwegian descent)

Sources: Genealogy of Eric Swalwell – https://www.geni.com

Genealogy of Eric Swalwell (focusing on his father’s side) – http://laurenandtristan.net

Eric’s paternal grandfather, Jack/John William Swalwell, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org