Rep. Eric Swalwell tried to have a town hall on Fox News but they rejected him, he says

Rep. Eric Swalwell appears at an anti-gun violence event. Rep. Eric Swalwell appears at an anti-gun violence event. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close Rep. Eric Swalwell tried to have a town hall on Fox News but they rejected him, he says 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

As the field of 2020 Democratic presidential contenders grows larger and larger, several candidates have tried to distinguish themselves by pointedly rebuffing Fox News's invitations to town halls hosted by the network.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., for instance, blasted the network as a "hate-for-profit" machine earlier this week, and gave a "hard pass" to appearing at a Fox town hall. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., followed suit, with a campaign aide telling The Hill that they've received requests from the network but "haven't entertained it."

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The Bay Area's own Rep. Eric Swalwell, however, seems to have no such reservations. Instead of Swalwell brushing off the network's invitations, it seems they were the ones to reject him, he said in a recent interview with CNN.

"I would absolutely do a Fox town hall," Swalwell said Wednesday. "But they told us we can't have one, which is a little bit confusing to us, because they have given them to people who are polling at the same place as us."

"I can only conclude that they are afraid to give me the opportunity," he added dramatically.

A Swalwell campaign rep reportedly told the Washington Examiner the campaign reached out to Fox for three weeks trying to schedule a town hall. The network disputed that characterization to CNN, saying that it's leaving the door open to a town hall with him in the future.

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Swalwell is far from the only Democratic candidate who's open to appearing on Fox. Sen. Bernie Sanders did a town hall on the network in mid-April; Sen. Amy Klobuchar did one last week; and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand — who is, like Swalwell, polling about 1 percent — and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg are both scheduled to appear at Fox town halls in the coming weeks.

Filipa Ioannou is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at filipa.ioannou@sfgate.com and follow her on Twitter

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