Aisha Wahab, a progressive Democratic state senator, has won the special election to represent California's 14th Congressional District. She defeated Melissa Hernandez, the president of the board of directors for the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency, to serve the remainder of the term ending in January 2027. Wahab, who won the primary by more than 20 points, received backing from the state Democratic party, Our Revolution, labor unions, local officials, and Attorney General Rob Bonta.
The seat was previously held by Representative Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April and ended his campaign for California governor following accusations of sexual assault, harassment, and misconduct. Swalwell has denied these allegations. The 14th District covers parts of Alameda County on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay.
Wahab becomes the first Afghan American to serve in Congress, having previously become the first Afghan American elected to public office in the U.S. when she won a Hayward City Council seat in 2018. Her legislative work has focused on housing affordability and access, and she authored a 2023 bill to ban caste-based discrimination, which Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed.
While Wahab will serve the remaining months of the current term, she and Hernandez are scheduled to face off again in a separate November election to determine who will serve the next full two-year term.