Democrat Aisha Wahab wins California special election for Swalwell's House seat
California State Sen. Aisha Wahab won a special election for the state's 14th House District, defeating fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez with 53% to 47% when 95% of votes were counted. Wahab will fill the remainder of former Rep. Eric Swalwell's term.
California State Sen. Aisha Wahab won the special election for the state's 14th House District, according to NBC News. With 95% of the expected vote counted, Wahab led Melissa Hernandez, a fellow Democrat and Bay Area Rapid Transit board member, 53% to 47%.
Wahab will serve the remainder of former Rep. Eric Swalwell's term. Swalwell resigned from Congress in April amid allegations of sexual assault, which he has denied, per NBC News.
The race came to a runoff after neither candidate secured a majority in the June 16 primary. Wahab took 43% to Hernandez's 17% in that initial contest, according to NBC News. The two candidates diverged sharply on Israel's conduct in Gaza. Wahab has said Israel's conduct in its war against Hamas in Gaza is genocide. At an April forum, Hernandez was the only candidate who did not answer "yes" when asked whether Israel was committing genocide, per NBC News. Wahab's campaign website criticized what she called "AIPAC-linked dark-money PACs" trying to "tear Aisha Wahab down," according to NBC News.
A super PAC aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent about $2.5 million against Wahab in the race's final weeks, NBC News reports. The spending reflected broader efforts by AIPAC-linked groups to shape Democratic primary contests. NBC News reports that House candidates who benefited from AIPAC-linked cash won victories in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland, while AIPAC-preferred candidates fell short in races in New Jersey, Illinois and Michigan. The United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-linked super PAC, spent more than $30 million in Michigan to boost Rep. Haley Stevens in a Senate primary, which she lost to former public health official Abdul El-Sayed, per NBC News.
State Sen. Aisha Wahab, who has called Israel's conduct in Gaza genocide, defeated Melissa Hernandez in the special election runoff despite a $2.5 million AIPAC-aligned super PAC campaign against her.
Wahab's victory in a race where AIPAC allies spent $2.5 million against her adds a data point to a mixed picture of pro-Israel spending's influence in 2026 Democratic primaries. Watch for Wahab's voting record on foreign aid and Middle East policy once she takes office, and whether national Democratic figures signal any strategic shift on AIPAC engagement in upcoming races.
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