Aisha Wahab, a California state senator and progressive Democrat, has won a special election to represent the state's 14th Congressional District in the East Bay region on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, defeating moderate Democrat Melissa Hernandez in a race that proved far more competitive than early polling had suggested. Wahab will serve out the remainder of the term of former Representative Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress in April after facing sexual assault and harassment allegations, which he has denied. The seat runs through January, and the two candidates are set to face each other again in a November election for the next full two-year term.

Wahab, who in 2018 became the first Afghan American elected to public office in the United States when she won a seat on the Hayward City Council, will now become the first Afghan American — and the first Muslim woman from California — to serve in Congress. Raised in foster care, she framed her victory in personal terms. "From foster care to Congress, this journey shows the possibility of the American Dream," she said in a statement. "I will fight for this district that raised me." During her time in the California legislature, Wahab championed housing affordability and authored a 2023 bill to ban caste-based discrimination, which drew national attention before being vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom.

The closing weeks of the campaign were dominated by a surge of outside spending. Groups affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the prominent pro-Israel lobbying organisation, poured nearly $6.4 million into supporting Hernandez and running attack advertisements against Wahab. With 95% of votes counted, Wahab led by just over six points — a significantly narrower margin than her 20-point victory in the June primary. Wahab described the outside spending as an attempt to "buy the seat" and called it election interference. She said her district "cannot be bought."

The race exposed a broader rift within California's Democratic Party. The state party apparatus, major labour unions and the state attorney general backed Wahab, while congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, chair of California's Democratic delegation, broke ranks to endorse Hernandez, citing concerns over Wahab's handling of efforts to install a caretaker candidate. The split reflects ongoing national tensions within the party over foreign policy, with Wahab having stated at a candidate forum that she considered the situation in Gaza a genocide — a position that drew sharp opposition from AIPAC-aligned groups.

The race unfolds against a troubling backdrop for Swalwell himself. Over the weekend, federal agents seized electronic devices from him at San Francisco airport and later searched his Washington home, according to a source familiar with the ongoing criminal investigation. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment. Hernandez, for her part, struck a defiant tone in defeat, saying she was proud of her competitive showing and had honoured her commitment to voters to fight for them throughout the race.