RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from NBC Bay Area — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 12 sources
What to Know
State Sen. Aisha Wahab has won a special election for California’s Congressional District 14, NBC News projects.
The Congressional District 14 seat was vacated earlier this year when former California U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress after sexual assault and misconduct allegations.
Wahab will fill Swalwell’s seat through January. At that time, the winner of the regular general election in November will take over for a full, two-year term.
California’s 14th Congressional District includes the East Bay cities such as Fremont, Hayward and Livermore.
California lawmaker Aisha Wahab secured victory Thursday in a special election to serve the rest of former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s House term, which ends in January.
Swalwell, a 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. He has denied the allegations.
Wahab defeated Bay Area Rapid Transit Director Melissa Hernandez in the special election in the state’s 14th Congressional District, which covers parts of Alameda County on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay.
Wahab has championed housing affordability and access. She also wrote a bill in 2023 to ban caste-based discrimination, which garnered national attention. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it, saying such discrimination is already outlawed by civil rights protections.
Wahab became the first Afghan American elected to public office in the U.S. when she won a Hayward City Council seat in 2018. She’ll be the first Afghan American to serve in Congress.
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 D.C., 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.
California
13 hours ago
FBI seizes devices from ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell and searches his D.C. home
Decision 2026
Aug 18
California Congressional District 14 special election results
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’s been up against a swell of spending boosting her rival ahead of the general. Groups affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, poured millions into supporting Hernandez, and thousands into opposing Wahab.
Hernandez issued the following statement Thursday after the race was called:
“I’ve been a fighter my whole life, and when I promised the residents of CA-14 I would fight for them, I never gave up. In just 63 days, we closed a gap from 26,000 votes to 6,000 votes by sharing our message of lowering housing costs, creating jobs, and supporting strong public safety. Voters finally got the chance to see what I have been doing as a mom, Dublin’s Mayor, and a director of healthcare services.
The election for CA-14 in November will be in the new district lines, adding 26,000 Dublin voters who didn’t have the chance to vote for me in August. We’re looking forward to winning this on November 3rd with a more favorable district and a much larger electorate. Game on!”
Associated Press reporter Alanna Drukin Richer contributed from Washington.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.