Wahab, Hernandez set for November rematch for full term
Progressive California state Sen. Aisha Wahab won the special election Thursday to succeed Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned his U.S. House seat in April amid sexual assault accusations. Wahab was projected as the winner Thursday afternoon, when the latest count showed her leading Melissa Hernandez.
Wahab will finish out Swalwell’s term. She and Hernandez will compete for a full term in Congress in November.
“This victory belongs to the voters who made clear that our district cannot be bought,” Wahab said in a statement. “Through one of the ugliest, most expensive elections we’ve ever seen, we never took the bait or went negative. We stayed focused on the people, and I will fight for this district that raised me.”
Hernandez, a more moderate Democrat and president of a Bay Area regional transit board, received more than $6 million for television ads and mailers from outside PACs, several of them funded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Wahab had secured a 26-point lead in the primary, but Hernandez was able to narrow that gap in the special election.
In her concession statement, Hernandez said she hopes for a different outcome in November.
“I’ve been a fighter my whole life, and when I promised the residents of CA-14 I would fight for them, I never gave up,” Hernandez said.
Swalwell resigned his seat in April amid allegations of sexual misconduct, including from one former staffer who said he raped her. He has denied the allegations and also ended his bid for California governor.