Progressive opposed by AIPAC wins California special election to succeed Eric Swalwell
Times of Israel · LC · trust 31/100
California state Senator Aisha Wahab will serve out the rest of former representative Eric Swalwell’s term after securing victory Thursday in a special election.
Swalwell, a pro-Israel 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, which he denies. Wahab will represent the state’s 14th Congressional District, which covers parts of Alameda County on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, through Swalwell’s term ending in January.
She will be the first Afghan American to serve in Congress. The progressive Democrat defeated Bay Area Rapid Transit Director Melissa Hernandez even after a swell of spending by outside groups opposing Wahab in the race’s final stretch, including by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. She said her victory showed her district “cannot be bought.”
“I will fight for this district that raised me,” Wahab said in a statement. “From foster care to Congress, this journey shows the possibility of the American Dream.”
Hernandez’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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, DC, 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 faced aggressive efforts to boost her rival ahead of the general. Groups affiliated with AIPAC poured millions into supporting Hernandez, and thousands into opposing Wahab, who replied “yes” during an April debate when asked whether Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza constituted a genocide. In contrast, Hernandez declined to give a yes-or-no answer, instead saying that Israel had a right to defend itself following the October 7, 2023, atrocities, but that the “destruction into Gaza has gone too far.”
Wahab, who is the child of Afghan refugees, centered her campaign on affordability issues and civil rights. While her campaign website calls for “No More Wars!” it does not specifically reference the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Citing the civilian toll in US military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya, her site reads, “We cannot bomb our way to lasting peace.”
During an appearance last week on the livestream of Hasan Piker, who has faced accusations of antisemitism, Wahab said that she would have voted for the Stop the Bombs Act and supported ending all US aid to Israel, though she stipulated that “humanitarian aid is important to me too.”
During the livestream, Wahab also touted a September 2025 resolution she co-authored with Jewish state Senator Scott Wiener, which called for the “end to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the immediate release of all hostages.” The resolution was also signed by members of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus.
In 2021, Wahab also collaborated with local Jewish leaders on a fundraiser for Afghan refugee resettlement in the aftermath of the US pullout from the country.
“I work well with the Jewish community. I’m very proud to support them. They’re my constituents,” Wahab said on the livestream.
“As an Afghan, you know, I really deeply want to ensure that all people feel welcomed and safe and secure in this nation. And we know that there’s a rise in antisemitism. We know all of that,” Wahab continued. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t criticize a foreign nation. You can’t criticize their leadership.”
Wahab attributed the volume of AIPAC spending in the race to “pure racism and prejudice,” saying that her “Jewish Senate colleagues are literally confused as to why they are spending this much money against me.”
She also garnered $200,000 in support from American Priorities, a pro-Palestinian PAC that formed as a counterweight to AIPAC, and the liberal pro-Israel lobby J Street Action Fund also announced that it was spending $100,000 to support her.
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