By CalNews360 Staff
August 20, 2026
California’s 14th Congressional District has a new representative.
State Sen. Aisha Wahab has won the special election to replace former Congressman Eric Swalwell, according to election results reported Thursday. Wahab defeated BART board president and former Dublin mayor Melissa Hernandez in a closely watched contest that remained tight as ballots were counted.
The victory gives Wahab the opportunity to serve the remainder of Swalwell’s congressional term and makes her the first Afghan American woman elected to Congress, according to The 19th.
A race that was much closer than expected
Wahab entered the special election as the clear favorite.
She had previously defeated Hernandez by wide margins in earlier contests, winning the June primary by more than 20 percentage points and the June special-election primary by an even larger margin.
But Tuesday’s election turned into a far tighter race.
With a large portion of the vote counted, Wahab was holding only a narrow advantage over Hernandez. Outside spending and an aggressive advertising campaign helped make the contest significantly more competitive than earlier results had suggested.
The final outcome means Wahab will now take over the seat that became vacant after Swalwell resigned from Congress earlier this year.
Who is Aisha Wahab?
Wahab is a California state senator representing the East Bay.
Her political career has included work on issues including housing, public safety, education and immigrant communities.
Her election to Congress also carries historic significance. She becomes the first Afghan American elected to Congress, adding another milestone to California’s increasingly diverse political representation.
What happens to the congressional seat now?
Wahab will serve the remainder of the current congressional term, which runs through January 2027.
But California voters have not necessarily seen the last of this contest.
Wahab and Hernandez are expected to face each other again in November, when voters will decide who serves the district for the next full congressional term beginning in January 2027.
That means the special election could be viewed as the first chapter of another major campaign later this year.
Why this election mattered beyond one congressional seat
California’s 14th Congressional District is located in the East Bay and is heavily Democratic.
Because both finalists were Democrats, the special election was not expected to change the party controlling the seat.
However, the race attracted considerable attention because of the unusually competitive contest and the amount of outside spending.
The Associated Press reported that outside groups spent heavily in support of Hernandez, while an AIPAC-linked group launched a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign targeting Wahab.
The spending made the race a closely watched test of how voters in the district would respond to the candidates and their political messages.
What Wahab’s victory means for California
Wahab’s election gives the East Bay a new voice in Congress and adds another California Democrat to the House.
Her arrival in Washington will also be closely watched because of her positions on issues including housing, immigration, public safety and foreign policy.
But her first task will be completing the remainder of the current congressional term while preparing for another election campaign only a few months away.
The Swalwell chapter comes to an end
The special election formally closes an unusual chapter for the district.
Swalwell represented the area in Congress for more than a decade before resigning in April following allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied. His resignation created the vacancy that led to Tuesday’s special election.
Now, the district has a new representative.
But with the November election approaching, California voters will soon have another opportunity to decide who they want to represent them in Congress for a full term.
The bottom line
Aisha Wahab has won the special election to replace Eric Swalwell and will represent California’s 14th Congressional District through the end of the current congressional term.
Her victory is historic, making her the first Afghan American elected to Congress, while also setting up another closely watched contest in November.
For California voters, the political story isn’t over yet.
The next election is already on the horizon.
Sources: The Guardian, The 19th, CBS News, Associated Press and San Francisco Chronicle.
Image note: The image used with this article is AI-generated for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an actual election event, polling location, or photograph of the individuals mentioned.
