Aisha Wahab Wins Special Election To Replace Eric Swalwell
California state Sen. Aisha Wahab won a special election on Thursday to serve out the remainder of disgraced former congressman Eric Swalwell’s term.
According to AP, Wahab, a progressive, managed to beat her more moderate opponent, Bay Area Rapid Transit Director Melissa Hernandez, despite being significantly outspent in the final weeks of the campaign. Wahab said her win proves her district “cannot be bought.”
The Guardian found that several Super Pacs spent over $5 million in the closing weeks of the campaign on pro-Hernandez ads and Wahab attack ads. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spent nearly $6.4 million on Hernandez’s campaign. This is likely because Wahab answered “yes” when asked if what Israel is doing in Gaza could be considered a genocide during a candidate forum in April.
Hernandez had a more wishy-washy response, saying that while Israel had a right to defend itself, “the destruction in Gaza has gone too far.”
Despite Hernandez receiving an influx of AIPAC money, Wahab was consistently the front-runner throughout the campaign. She was endorsed by the state Democratic Party, the progressive PAC Our Revolution, several labor unions, local officials, and California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta.
The influx of campaign funds did appear to help Hernandez. While Wahab won the primary by 20 percentage points, she only beat Hernandez by six percentage points in the special election.
Wahab became the first Afghan American elected to public office when she was elected to the Hayward City Council in 2018 and is now the first Afghan American elected to Congress. “I will fight for this district that raised me,” Wahab said in a statement. “From foster care to Congress, this journey shows the possibility of the American dream.”
Hernandez issued a statement after her loss, saying she was proud of the campaign she ran. “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,” she said in a statement.
Wahab and Hernandez will face off once again this November in the upcoming midterms. One has to assume that Wahab’s special election win bodes well for her chances to win a full, two-year term.
Wahab is replacing former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who announced his candidacy for governor earlier this year. While Swalwell was seen as the favorite to replace California’s term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom, his campaign was derailed after several former staffers accused him of sexual misconduct. Swalwell suspended his campaign and resigned from Congress in April.
Wahab’s election comes as a criminal investigation into Swalwell intensified this week. Federal investigators searched Swalwell’s home this week and seized his phone as well as a laptop.
I want to make it clear that I do not condone Swalwell’s alleged behavior, nor do I think he should be immune from consequences for any provably criminal actions. I just find it interesting that the FBI is putting so much energy into investigating Swalwell, and not any of the Republican politicians who have faced similar allegations. Former Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) resigned around the same time as Swalwell for similar allegations that ended with a staffer committing suicide, yet there doesn’t seem to be a federal investigation into that.
Funny how that works.
SEE ALSO:
Rep. Eric Swalwell Suspends Governor Campaign Amid Sexual Assault Allegations
Reps Eric Swalwell And Tony Gonzales Resign From Congress
Aisha Wahab Wins Special Election To Replace Eric Swalwell was originally published on newsone.com
