Democrat Aisha Wahab, a California state senator, has won a special election for a vacant US House seat, positioning her to become the first Afghan American member of the US Congress. Wahab defeated fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez, an official with the San Francisco Bay Area mass transit system.
Once sworn in, Wahab will fill the seat vacated by Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denied. This victory will give the Democrats 213 seats in the House, while Republicans hold 218.
The district, located near San Francisco and San Jose, is solidly Democratic. Wahab, a progressive Democrat, is notable for being both the first Muslim woman and the first Afghan American elected to the California state legislature.
With 95% of votes counted, Wahab secured over 53% of the vote, while Hernandez received approximately 47%. Meanwhile, the United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, invested nearly $2.5 million since early August to support Hernandez’s campaign.
This pro-Israel lobbying group has faced criticism in several Democratic primary races amid intra-party disputes over candidates’ stances on Israel. Prominent progressive Democrats have voiced opposition to US support for Israel due to concerns about the US-Israeli war on Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s close ties to Republicans, and Israeli military actions in Gaza and Lebanon, which have strained Democratic support for the alliance.
Wahab and Hernandez are set to face each other again in November, with the winner securing the congressional seat for a full two-year term.
Wahab has focused on addressing inequality as a state legislator. She authored a bill aimed at making California the first state to explicitly ban caste discrimination; however, the bill was vetoed in 2023 by Governor Gavin Newsom, who argued that existing laws already prohibited ancestry discrimination.
