LOS ANGELES, California, August 21, 2026 — Democrat Aisha Wahab won a special election Thursday to represent California’s open 14th District House seat. The state senator defeated Melissa Hernandez, a Bay Area Rapid Transit board member and fellow Democrat. Wahab was the top vote-getter in a special election Tuesday to finish the term of former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April.
A Close Alameda County Race
Alameda County election officials said that Wahab won with 51,610 votes, or 53.09 percent for the young mayoral candidate, compared to 45,598 for the older one, Hernandez. It is entirely in Alameda County and includes cities that border both San Francisco and San Jose. The two candidates emerged to face each other in a runoff after having placed first and second, respectively, in a nonpartisan June primary.
A late May primary chart had put Hernandez more than 25 points behind Wahab back then. Outside spending swamped the race in the runoff, which caused the margin of victory to narrow considerably. Official vote counting was carried over several days as election officials throughout the county processed mail ballots.
Outside Money Poured In
The race attracted millions of dollars in outside spending, including by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC’s last-minute effort targeted Hernandez as he faced off against Wahab, a strong opponent of Israeli policy. Despite a last-minute campaign from the opposition party, Wahab went on to win through that spending gap.
With her win, House Democrats now control 213 seats to 218 for Republicans. In April, Swalwell resigned after facing allegations of sexual misconduct which he denies. Before abandoning his House seat and running for California governor.
A Historic First
Wahab will be sworn into Congress as the first Afghan American in history. In 2022, she was also the first Muslim and Afghan American woman elected to California’s state Senate. Prior to that, she was on the Hayward City Council — another first for an Afghan American woman nationally.
And in a description of her journey to office Wahab paints it out through the lens of an abusive childhood growing up in foster care. After her father was killed and her mother died young, she was adopted by a Bay Area couple. That background, Sacramento colleagues say, undergirds her focus on economic inequality.
What Comes Next
Wahab will only fulfill the remainder of Swalwell’s term, which ends in January. She and Hernandez are both due back on the ballot for the full term in November. The winner of the rematch will represent the district for the next two-year Congressional session.
House Republican leaders will welcome Wahab along with his Bay Area voice to a tightly divided House midway through the election cycle. But expect her early committee work to be colored by her record on California policy like tech regulation and housing. Official certified district results can be found online with the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.
But the outcome, political analysts say, suggests that outside criticism has not dampened Democratic strength in the Bay Area It was one of the largest outside spending efforts in a California special election this cycle, much of it backed by AIPAC. Wahab’s camp celebrated the defeat of efforts to purchase influence in a local race.
With the House split so closely along partisan lines, congressional leaders in both parties are keeping a close eye on the seat. Wahab has indicated she intends for early legislative efforts to tackle housing affordability and tech accountability. She is anticipated to be sworn in when the House comes back from recess.
