SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California legislator Aisha Wahab won Thursday’s special election to complete the remainder of former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s term in the U.S. House, a seat that runs through January.
Swalwell, a Democrat who had been pursuing a run for California governor, suspended that campaign and stepped down from Congress in April after allegations of sexual assault and harassment surfaced. He has denied the accusations.
Wahab prevailed over Bay Area Rapid Transit Director Melissa Hernandez in the race for California’s 14th Congressional District, which includes portions of Alameda County along the eastern side of San Francisco Bay.
Known for focusing on housing affordability and access, Wahab has also drawn national attention for authoring a 2023 bill that would have prohibited caste-based discrimination. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the measure, arguing that existing civil rights laws already bar that form of discrimination.
Wahab made history in 2018 when she won a seat on the Hayward City Council, becoming the first Afghan American elected to public office in the United States. Her victory now makes her the first Afghan American to serve in Congress.
The special election’s outcome comes as criminal investigations tied to the allegations against Swalwell remain active.
Over the weekend, federal agents seized electronic devices from Swalwell at San Francisco’s airport and later searched his Washington, D.C., residence, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Swalwell’s attorney did not immediately return an email or 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.
