Sacramento, California - Eric Swalwell's run for California governor has been thrown into disarray after multiple women accused him of sexual assault.

Swalwell, who represents California's 14th district and is vying for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, has seen at least five staffers quit his campaign and multiple top aides jump ship, Politico reported.

Senior among the defectors is Courtni Pugh, Swalwell's strategic adviser who also acted as a top liaison to labor groups. She has confirmed her resignation, but refused to comment on the matter.

Two other people confirmed to Politico that a minimum of four other people, separate from Pugh, also left the operation shortly before new allegations surfaced on Friday afternoon.

The high-profile departures, as well as the sexual assault scandal itself, has sent Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign into a tailspin only weeks after he was considered one of the front runners in California's Democratic primaries.

The recent resignations came shortly before a San Francisco Chronicle report dropped on Friday detailing allegations that Swalwell twice assaulted an ex-staffer who was too intoxicated to give consent. Three other women accused of sexually inappropriate behavior, according to CNN.

The congressman has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the woman and denied all the allegations, but by Friday afternoon he quickly began losing the endorsements of major Democrats who had previously supported his campaign, including prominent California Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla.

"These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front runner for governor," Swalwell wrote in a statement to the Chronicle.

"I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action," he said. "My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies."