California state Senator Aisha Wahab won a special election to represent California’s 14th congressional district on Thursday, defeating moderate Democrat Melissa Hernandez and overcoming millions of dollars in attack ads funded by pro-Israel outside groups. Wahab will serve the remainder of former representative Eric Swalwell’s term through January.
California state Senator Aisha Wahab secured a decisive victory in a special election to succeed Democratic former Representative Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress in April amid allegations of sexual misconduct. With more than 95 percent of the vote counted, Wahab led fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez, the president of the Bay Area Rapid Transit board, 53 percent to 47 percent when the race was called on Thursday afternoon, two days after election day.
Wahab’s victory places her in the United States House of Representatives for the remainder of Swalwell’s term, which concludes in January. She will represent California’s 14th congressional district, which covers parts of Alameda County and the southeastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area. In doing so, she becomes the first Afghan American member of Congress.
Outside Spending, Super PACs, and the Final Weeks of the Race
Though Wahab finished comfortably ahead of Hernandez in June’s primary with more than 42 percent of the vote to Hernandez’s 17 percent, the general contest tightened significantly after a swell of spending by outside groups opposing her campaign in its final stretch.
The race drew heavy financial intervention from groups aligned with the pro-Israel lobbying organization American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The United Democracy Project, a super political action committee affiliated with AIPAC, spent nearly $2.5m since early August to boost Hernandez and oppose Wahab, according to media reports and Federal Election Commission records. Additional financial support came from BOLD America, another group receiving funding from AIPAC, which spent $1.9m.
While pro-Israel organizations deployed massive resources, some of the advertising avoided Middle East policy entirely. One attack ad against Wahab focused on misleading claims regarding sex-trafficking legislation. Wahab fired back by releasing her own video emphasizing her legislative record, calling the campaign $5m of lies
and noting that she had worked to make the solicitation of minors illegal and a felony across the board.
Foreign Policy Positions and Progressive Momentum
The contest served as another prominent battleground testing the influence of the pro-Israel lobby within the Democratic Party. Wahab has previously taken vocal stances on the Middle East, co-authoring a state resolution last year that denounced the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and calling for an end to the war. During an April candidate forum, she answered yes when asked if she believed Israel’s actions constituted a genocide. Hernandez took a more moderate stance, stating that while Israel had a right to defend itself, the destruction in Gaza had gone too far.
Wahab’s win parallels other recent progressive victories nationwide where candidates overcame heavy outside spending from establishment or pro-Israel groups. Prominent progressives rallied behind her campaign, including California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who offered public congratulations following the result.
Khanna added that he looked forward to collaborating on legislation regarding Medicare for All, a living wage, and ending the war in Iran.
Personal Background and the Upcoming November Rematch
Reflecting on her journey, Wahab pointed to her upbringing as the child of Afghan refugees. After her father was murdered and her mother died, she and her sister spent time in foster care before being adopted by an Afghan couple in the Bay Area.
The political battle for California’s 14th district is far from finished. Wahab and Hernandez will face off again in November for a full two-year term representing the district under a newly drawn map approved by California voters last year. Early voting and vote-by-mail for the general election begin on October 5, with Election Day scheduled for November 3.
