State Sen. Aisha Wahab has won California’s contentious 14th Congressional District special election, defeating BART board member Melissa Hernandez. The Associated Press called the race on Thursday, August 20, 2026, making Wahab the nation’s first Afghan American member of Congress after filling the seat formerly held by Eric Swalwell.
State Sen. Aisha Wahab secured a historic victory in the East Bay special election for Congress, triumphing in a bitter intra-party contest that drew millions of dollars in outside super PAC spending. Wahab leads fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez, a member of the Bay Area Rapid Transit board of directors, 53% to 47% in the 14th Congressional District, expanding her election-night margin to more than 6,000 votes.
The victory makes Wahab the nation’s first Afghan American Congress member, adding to her historic milestone as the first Muslim woman and Afghan American elected to the California legislature. She has represented parts of the East Bay and South Bay in the state Legislature since 2022.
An Open Seat Triggered by Resignation and a Contentious Primary
The special election became necessary after former Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned from the seat in April in the face of multiple allegations of sexual assault that arose during his campaign for governor. Swalwell has denied the allegations. Gov. Gavin Newsom subsequently called the June 16 special election to fill the remainder of the term.
Ahead of the special primary, several congressional Democrats pushed for candidates to clear the field so a caretaker could claim an outright majority and take office immediately in a divided Congress. Wahab resisted that pressure, describing the effort as out of touch with voters in the district. She finished first in the primary with 43% of the vote, while Hernandez trailed in second with 17%.
The contest intensified significantly in the nine weeks between the primary and the Tuesday runoff. Zoe Lofgren, chair of California’s Democratic delegation, endorsed Hernandez, pointing out that Wahab did not back the effort to elect a caretaker candidate. That endorsement sparked friction within the party; Amar Shergill, a former chair of the progressive caucus of the California Democratic party, told Politico that Lofgren’s actions were astounding
as progressives rallied around Wahab.
Millions in Outside Super PAC Spending Floods the 14th District
The general election runoff turned into a high-spending proxy battle between progressive forces and moderate-aligned outside groups. Track Aipac reported that the lobby spent nearly $6.4m to support Hernandez through advertising, while local media reports placed the grand total of spending by Super PACs and political action committees at higher amounts.
Specific spending disclosures showed that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee poured $2.4 million into boosting Hernandez through its super PAC, the United Democracy Project. That same super PAC also contributed over $1.5 million this year to BOLD America, a separate organization that spent over $2 million to assist Hernandez. Meanwhile, progressive groups including Our Revolution, labor unions, and the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, backed Wahab.
“This victory belongs to the voters who made clear that our district cannot be bought.”
State Sen. Aisha Wahab, via KQED
Wahab told the Guardian that a sudden surge of critical television and digital ads misrepresented her record, describing the heavy outside spending as election interference aimed at buying the seat.
Turnout, Margins, and the Road to November
Although Wahab maintained a strong lead throughout the cycle, the final margin proved much tighter than expected. With 95% of votes counted by Thursday afternoon, Wahab’s lead settled at just over six points. Turnout in Tuesday’s primary sat at 23%, trailing the 29% turnout in the June 16 special primary election and the 37% participation rate in the regularly scheduled June 2 primary.
Hernandez pointed to structural shifts in the constituency as a factor in her campaign’s late surge, noting that the newly drawn 14th District added more than 26,000 voters in Dublin, where she previously served as mayor and city council member. This district has changed,
Hernandez said in an interview with KQED, adding that local voters knew her leadership record from her municipal tenure.
“In just 63 days, we closed a gap from 26,000 to 6,000 votes by sharing our message of lowering housing costs, creating jobs, and supporting strong public safety.”
Melissa Hernandez, via KQED
Winning the special election grants Wahab immediate incumbency status. Both candidates will face each other again on the November ballot to compete for a full two-year term representing California’s 14th Congressional District.
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