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Money

Eric Swalwell’s AI-Powered Political Startup Is Making Big Money From Democratic Allies

Swalwell’s own congressional and California gubernatorial committees have also spent thousands of dollars for his company’s services.

EricSwalwell

Rep. Eric Swalwell and Sen. Ruben Gallego. Tom Williams/AP

By Samuel Larreal

March 19, 2026 05:37 a.m.

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A politics-focused artificial intelligence company co-owned by Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell is making serious money from the congressman’s Democratic allies.

Findraiser, which Swalwell co-founded in 2024 with his former congressional chief of staff, Yardena Wolf, has earned $60,000 from over a dozen Democratic campaigns, including those of longtime political allies such as Sens. Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego, according to a NOTUS analysis of Federal Election Commission data.

Findraiser promises to help political campaigns use AI “to search your donor database so you don’t have to.”

Gallego, who Swalwell describes as his “best friend” on his California gubernatorial campaign website, paid Findraiser more than $13,000 in 2025 through Gallego’s Juntos PAC and Gallego for Arizona campaign committee.

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Gallego and Swalwell have a long history of working together, with Gallego serving as campaign chair of Swalwell’s short-lived presidential run in 2020. In early 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a special interest group paid for the two lawmakers to travel to Qatar, where they were photographed shirtless while riding camels.

Wolf, who now works for Swalwell as his California gubernatorial campaign manager, described Findraiser’s software as “ChatGPT for your own campaign database,” according to promotional emails reviewed by NOTUS. The emails were sent in September, while Wolf still worked in Swalwell’s congressional office.

Lawmakers are legally allowed to earn passive income through businesses they own, Kedric Payne, the senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, told NOTUS. But House ethics guidelines set strict limits on the role that lawmakers can play within these companies.

“House rules allow members of Congress to have outside businesses in specific circumstances and members may only receive a limited amount of outside earned income,” Payne said. “To the extent that the member is helping to grow the business and gain more clients, he is prohibited from using his official position to do so.”

Micah Beasley, a spokesperson for Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign, told NOTUS Swalwell has consulted the House Ethics Committee about Findraiser and he receives no income from the company.

“Findraiser is a platform like hundreds of other tools in the market that helps Democratic campaigns communicate more efficiently,” Beasley said in a statement. “Like any excellent early-stage product, Findraiser spread through word of mouth among campaigns across the country. Any decision by a campaign or candidate to utilize the tool is based on their choice and their organization’s strategic prioritization.”

Findraiser is worth $200,000 to $500,000, according to Swalwell’s personal financial disclosure covering activity from 2024. The company is headquartered in Pleasanton, California, according to business documents obtained through the California Secretary of State.

Adam Schiff
Sen. Adam Schiff. Tom Williams/AP

Schiff’s Senate campaign committee has spent about $2,000 on Findraiser services. The senator is a longtime Swalwell ally. He endorsed Swalwell for California governor earlier this year, and Swalwell attended many of Schiff’s campaign events when he ran for an open Senate seat in 2024. The two have fundraised together since at least 2023, according to campaign emails reviewed by NOTUS.

“Our campaign contracted with Findraiser in order to use the new technology, and see if it would help our campaign better utilize our databases and time better. Findraiser is one of many campaign vendors used by our team, and it helped us engage with several people,” Ian Mariani, Schiff’s campaign spokesperson, told NOTUS.

The campaign committee of Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a Democrat who serves as Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign chair, according to his website, has spent $3,000 on Findraiser services.

Other Findraiser customers have worked with Swalwell on federal legislation.

Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, for one, introduced a bill with Swalwell earlier this year that would limit federal immigration enforcement. In 2025, Goldman’s reelection campaign paid Findraiser $7,437 for its services.

Dan Goldman
Rep. Dan Goldman. Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Swalwell, meanwhile, is a co-sponsor of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Childcare Protection Act. Omar’s campaign committee spent more than $4,500 on Findraiser services last year.

Some Findraiser customers have also received informal support from Swalwell in recent elections.

The campaign of Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who recently lost a U.S. Senate primary bid in Texas, spent $4,500 on Findraiser services from March to December of 2025.

Swalwell supported Crockett’s candidacy, including in a social media post in December. Swalwell included Crockett in a CNN interview where he likened the Democratic Party to comic book superheroes.

Jasmine Crockett
Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Paul Sancya/AP

“It’s the Avengers right now,” Swalwell said last year. “You’ve got Jasmine Crockett coming to California, helping us elevate the vote to pass Prop 50. Ruben Gallego is going to Iowa and New Hampshire as a Marine, Latino, first in his family to go to college.”

Other Democrats who have contracted with Findraiser in recent months include Reps. Joe Morelle of New York, Tom Suozzi of New York, Angie Craig of Minnesota, Haley Stevens of Michigan and Steven Horsford of Nevada.

Swalwell’s own political campaigns for Congress and California governor have also spent over $7,600 in Findraiser service fees.

California’s gubernatorial primary is June 2, and Swalwell is competing in a crowded, all-party primary field. Other Democrats running include former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, billionaire businessman and former 2020 presidential candidate Tom Steyer, former Rep. Katie Porter, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and California Democratic Party Vice Chair Betty Yee.

Also running as Republicans are former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Green Party candidate Butch Ware, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is also on the ballot.

Author

aji_fellow2024_samuellarreal.png Samuel Larreal is a former NOTUS reporter and Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.

Contributor

AJI-Fellow2024_Violet Jira.png Violet Jira is a former NOTUS reporter and Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.

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