California Lawmaker Aisha Wahab Wins Special Election for House Seat
Wahab secures victory in special election to serve the rest of former Rep. Eric Swalwell's House term.
Quick Look
- California lawmaker Aisha Wahab won a special election to serve the rest of former Rep.
- Eric Swalwell's House term, defeating Bay Area Rapid Transit Director Melissa Hernandez in the 14th Congressional District.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress in April after facing sexual assault and harassment allegations, prompting the special election in California's 14th Congressional District.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California lawmaker Aisha Wahab secured victory Thursday in a special election to serve the rest of former Rep. Eric Swalwell's House term, which ends in January.
Swalwell, a Democrat who was running for California governor, ended his campaign and resigned from Congress in April after he was accused of sexual assault and harassment. He has denied the allegations.
Wahab defeated Bay Area Rapid Transit Director Melissa Hernandez in the special election in the state's 14th Congressional District, which covers parts of Alameda County on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay.
Wahab has championed housing affordability and access. She also wrote a bill in 2023 to ban caste-based discrimination, which garnered national attention. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it, saying such discrimination is already outlawed by civil rights protections.
Wahab became the first Afghan American elected to public office in the U.S. when she won a Hayward City Council seat in 2018. She’ll be the first Afghan American to serve in Congress.
The conclusion of the race to replace Swalwell comes as criminal investigations continue into the sexual assault allegations he faces. Over the weekend, federal agents seized electronic devices from Swalwell at the San Francisco airport and later searched his home in Washington D.C., according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Swalwell’s attorney did not immediately respond to an email and phone message seeking comment.
Wahab and Hernandez will face off again in a separate November election determining who will serve the next full two-year term.
Wahab won the June primary decisively, but she’s been up against a swell of spending boosting her rival ahead of the general. Groups affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, poured millions into supporting Hernandez, and thousands into opposing Wahab.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Wahab and Hernandez will face off in a separate November election determining who will serve the next full two-year term.
Very likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What are the outcomes of the criminal investigations into Eric Swalwell?
- How will the upcoming November election between Wahab and Hernandez unfold?
