Progressive Wahab Wins Swalwell's Seat Despite AIPAC Millions
Progressive Wahab Wins Swalwell's Seat Despite AIPAC Millions
The News
Democratic state Sen. Aisha Wahab has won the special election in California's 14th Congressional District, taking the seat left open when Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned in April.
CNN's Decision Desk and NBC News both projected the win Thursday, after a vote count that stretched well past election night.
Wahab beat fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez, the BART Board president, in a runoff between two members of the same party.
She will serve only the remainder of Swalwell's term, which ends in January.
The AIPAC Fight
The runoff turned into a proxy war over outside money. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Wahab faced an $8 million onslaught traced to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which backed Hernandez, along with fierce pushback from moderate Democrats.
It worked, partly: the Chronicle reported Wahab claimed a much smaller margin of victory than she did in her two previous contests.
It did not work enough to beat her.
Timeline
Swalwell resigns from the House after sexual assault allegations from multiple women, which he denied, ending more than a decade in Congress and his run for governor.
Wahab leads the special election primary with 42.8% of the vote; Hernandez takes 16.8%, sending the two Democrats to a runoff.
Polls close in the East Bay district with no winner declared. Wahab leads by roughly 1,300 votes — 51% to 49% — with about 62% of ballots counted.
CNN and NBC News project Wahab the winner.
Reactions
Wahab's supporters told the Chronicle the spending against her fueled her campaign rather than sinking it.
Conservative outlets framed the outcome as a factional result inside the Democratic Party. Fox News called it "another progressive win in the Democratic war." The Washington Examiner described the victory as coming "in defiance of AIPAC money flood."
What's Next
Wahab's term in Washington is short. The seat she just won expires in January.
She and Hernandez are already set to face each other again in November's general election, for the redrawn district's full term beginning in January 2027.
Alameda County election officials continue counting the remaining ballots.
More
The district is a safe Democratic seat in the East Bay, which is why the real contest was the runoff between two Democrats rather than a race against a Republican. Wahab, a progressive state senator, arrives in the House with a matter of months to make an impression before voters decide the full term.
Colleges Condemn Students Mocking Kirk Assassination Anniversary
Charleston White Arrested Again on Florida Battery Charge
Sep 13, 2026
Border Patrol Rescues MS NOW Crew in Desert
Sep 13, 2026
Supreme Court Restores Missouri's Old House Map
Sep 13, 2026
Alaska Drops Felony Voter Charges Against Samoans
Sep 13, 2026
Trespasser Breaches Harris' Malibu Estate; No Arrest
Sep 12, 2026
Hegseth Pressed Downed Airmen Into 60 Minutes
Sep 12, 2026
Houthis Seize Mokha, Choking Saudi Oil Exports
Sep 12, 2026
Altman Rules Out OpenAI IPO This Year
Sep 12, 2026
Jury Acquits Lil Durk in Murder-for-Hire Case
Sep 12, 2026
Judge: Trump Broke Law Halving FEMA Staff
Sep 12, 2026
Maher Calls Democrats' Gaza Genocide Claim a Lie
Sep 12, 2026
Blizzard Revives StarCraft, Sends Diablo to Netflix
Sep 12, 2026
Trump's Queens Childhood Home Sells for $1.93M
Sep 12, 2026
Scientists Find New Virus in Tick Invading US
Sep 12, 2026
Britain Bans Settlement Imports; US States Threaten Payback
Sep 12, 2026
Prison Fire Kills 7 as Kurds Protest Killing
Sep 12, 2026
Kosovo Rallies for Ex-President Before Hague Verdict
Sep 12, 2026
Cruz Booed at GameDay Over College Sports Bill
Sep 12, 2026
Blast Hits Bulgarian Arms Plant Supplying Ukraine
Sep 12, 2026
Sep 13, 2026