California State Senator Aisha Wahab emerged victorious in the special election held on August 18th for California’s 14th Congressional District. She will be taking over the remaining term of former U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell.
Swalwell resigned in April this year amid allegations of sexual misconduct from multiple women, including former staffers. However, he has vehemently denied these accusations.
During the primary for the special election on June 16, Wahab and Melissa Hernandez, Chairwoman of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors, secured the top two spots. While Wahab led the primary, neither candidate reached the 50% threshold, leading to a runoff.
Wahab also topped the regular primary on June 2 to determine the candidate for the full term in the next session.
Despite Wahab consistently leading in polls, Hernandez outraised her in campaign contributions by $902,514. Hernandez also had $29,230 more in available cash on hand than Wahab.
External funding poured into this special election, with the United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), injecting $1.2 million to support Hernandez and oppose Wahab. Another super PAC, Bold America, spent $664,921 to boost Hernandez’s campaign.
Since mid-July, external groups have contributed approximately $4.1 million to this election, with around $3.7 million supporting Hernandez and $400,000 backing Wahab.
Wahab’s campaign focused on several policy platforms, including advocating for a nationwide ban on unjust “junk fees,” constructing more housing for all income levels, prohibiting members of Congress from stock trading, supporting small businesses, and safeguarding abortion rights.
The 14th Congressional District of California underwent redistricting last year for the first time in a decade. The new district map will take effect in January next year along with the full new term; hence, the winner of this special election will represent the existing district boundaries until then.
In the 2024 presidential election, former Vice President Kamala Harris secured 65.8% of the vote in the current 14th District; estimated under the new district map, her support stands at 65.4%.
Swalwell served as a congressman from January 2013 until his resignation in April 2026. Following the allegations, he faced pressure from Democratic colleagues, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and withdrew from the California gubernatorial race.
Swalwell took to social media platform X to express, “I deeply apologize to my family, staff, and constituents for the errors in judgment I made. I will vigorously defend against these serious false accusations made against me. However, I must take responsibility for the mistakes I did make and be held accountable for them.”