Just a few weeks ago, Rep. Eric Swalwell was said to be leading a crowded pack of Democrats trying to win the nomination for California’s governor. Then, in the blink of an eye, his party abandoned him.

The alleged reason is evidence of sexual misconduct. In reality, Swalwell fell victim to the Democratic Party’s unquenchable lust for power and California’s bizarre jungle primary.

On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN both ran stories about women accusing him of sexual misconduct. Within hours, Democrats were taking their endorsements back and calling on him to drop out of the race. By Sunday, he’d suspended his campaign. On Monday, he said he would resign from Congress.

Has any politician fallen so far so fast?

Keep in mind that the normal way for Democrats to handle accusations of sexual misconduct – including rape allegations – among one of their own is to circle the wagons and count on the press to smear the accusers. (Just ask Paula Jones or Tara Reade.)

So why did Democrats and the mainstream press instantly throw Swalwell overboard – before any of the allegations had even been investigated?

It has less to do with his antics than it does with the upcoming California governor’s race and the state’s bizarre “jungle” primary system.

Let us explain.

Started in 2012, the state’s primary system lets anyone vote for any candidate, and the top two finishers – regardless of party – go on to the general election. It was advertised as a way to open the door to more qualified candidates, but it was really a way to impose one-party rule on the state by keeping Republicans off as many ballots as possible.

When Kamala Harris won her 2016 Senate race, for example, it was against another Democrat. In the state’s last midterm election, there were 26 races in which voters could choose only between two Democrats (there was just one race that year where Republicans had that advantage). This has been the general pattern in the past several elections.

But this year, the jungle primary threatened to backfire on Democrats because there were, until this weekend, nine undistinguished Democrats running for governor.

As PBS put it, “Democrats are openly fretting that the party’s numerous candidates will undercut each other and allow two Republicans to advance to the November election. Even in the heavily Democratic state, an all-GOP general election is possible.”

The chance of that happening is admittedly remote, but there’s still a chance, unless the Democrats thin out their herd.

Fewer Democrats running in the primary increases the chances that at least one of them will end up on the November ballot. And given California’s voting history, that means Democrats would almost certainly keep control of the governorship.

Someone in the party decided that one of these candidates had to go, and fast. And Swalwell’s alleged sexual peccadillos – which were almost certainly widely known to party leaders long before last week – made him an easy target.

Swalwell just learned that the most dangerous place for a Democrat to be is between another Democrat and a seat of power.

But don’t mistake Swalwell’s lightening-fast fall from grace as a sign that Democrats suddenly care about sexual misconduct, or misconduct of any kind. Swalwell was the first sacrificial lamb in the party’s determination to keep control of California. He probably won’t be the last.

Because the only thing that matters to Democrats is holding on to power.

–  Written by the I&I Editorial Board