Aisha Wahab, a California state senator, secured victory in a special election to represent the state’s 14th Congressional District through January, when former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s term concludes. Swalwell, a Democrat, resigned from Congress in April after announcing a gubernatorial campaign. He faced accusations of sexual assault and harassment, which he has denied. Federal agents seized electronic devices from Swalwell at San Francisco airport over the weekend and searched his Washington home as criminal investigations into the allegations continue.
Wahab, a progressive Democrat, defeated Bay Area Rapid Transit Director Melissa Hernandez in the special election contest. Her victory makes her the first Afghan American to serve in Congress. Wahab previously made history in 2018 when she became the first Afghan American elected to public office in the United States, winning a Hayward City Council seat. During her time in the state legislature, she has focused on housing affordability and access issues. In 2023, she authored legislation to ban caste-based discrimination, which received national attention before Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it, citing existing civil rights protections.
The race drew significant outside spending, with groups affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spending millions to support Hernandez and thousands to oppose Wahab in the final stretch before the election. Wahab had won the primary decisively in June. At an April candidate forum, Wahab answered affirmatively when asked whether she considered the situation facing Palestinians a genocide, while Hernandez declined to give a direct yes-or-no answer. Wahab and Hernandez are scheduled to compete again in a November election to determine who will serve the next full two-year congressional term. Hernandez stated she remained committed to fighting for district residents despite her special election loss.
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