California Special Election: Voters Choose Swalwell's Replacement
Theo Al Jazeera English
Voters in a California Bay Area district headed to the polls Tuesday in a special election to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell. The race pits state Sen. Aisha Wahab against local official Melissa Hernandez, with outside groups spending millions.
Voters in a California Bay Area congressional district went to the polls Tuesday to decide which Democrat will replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who represented the state's 14th Congressional District.
State Sen. Aisha Wahab and local transit official Melissa Hernandez are facing off in an increasingly costly and contentious race. Both advanced from a June primary with about 38% and 17% of the vote, respectively.
Under California's unique "jungle primary" system, the two top vote-getters advance if no one clears 50%.
Swalwell, who served more than a decade in Congress before launching a bid for California governor earlier this year, resigned in April following multiple allegations of sexual assault. He has denied the allegations.
Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time (14:00 Tuesday to 02:00 Wednesday GMT).
Once seen as the near-certain successor, Wahab has faced a wave of outside spending. Super PACs, including groups linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), have poured millions into ads opposing Wahab and boosting Hernandez in the campaign's final weeks.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project spent $1.2 million in August to support Hernandez and oppose Wahab. Another group spent $1.7 million on the race.
In total, outside groups have spent about $4.1 million since mid-July, with roughly $3.7 million backing Hernandez, compared with less than $400,000 supporting Wahab.
Wahab, an Afghan American and the first Muslim woman elected to the California State Senate, has spoken out about Israel's war in Gaza and pushed legislation condemning alleged human rights violations against Palestinians and hostages held by Hamas.
Hernandez's campaign has attacked Wahab over her legislative record on criminal penalties. Last week, Wahab said she would file a complaint with the FEC over what she called "unprecedented" social media election interference from outside groups like AIPAC.
"What we're seeing is a wave of suspicious accounts, bot-like and highly coordinated, spreading false, ugly narratives," Wahab said at a news conference.
The news outlet Semafor reported that a supporter of Hernandez's campaign filed an FEC complaint against Wahab, alleging the senator received "illegal and unreported in-kind contributions" from a local Democratic party. Wahab, endorsed by the California Democratic Party, told the outlet the complaint "deliberately mischaracterizes" the party's support for her.
The boundaries of the 14th Congressional District were redrawn after voters approved a new congressional map in 2025 under Proposition 50. That map takes effect for the full term starting in January, while the winner of the special election serves under current boundaries until the end of this year.
AIPAC's spending in this race signals the group, despite mixed results in this year's primaries, intends to spend big ahead of the critical November midterms. The winner will finish the remainder of Swalwell's term, which ends in January. Wahab and Hernandez will also face off again in November for the seat's full two-year term.
