A California state senator born to Afghan refugees who grew up in foster care after losing both parents is romping to an early lead in the special election to temporarily fill the congressional seat vacated by disgraced Democrat Eric Swalwell.
Aisha Wahab, who made history as the first Afghan American to hold elected office in the United States, garnered more than 40 per cent of the vote in Tuesday’s special election for California’s 14th Congressional District, with the Associated Press calling that she would advance to an August runoff. Wahab had previously topped the open primary held earlier this month to fill the seat on a full-term basis starting in January, advancing to the general election alongside Bay Area transportation official Melissa Hernandez.
Tuesday’s special election, which drew 11 candidates — six Democrats, four Republicans and one independent — will see the winner serve less than six months in the seat before the August 18 runoff determines a full-term successor. With 80 per cent of the vote counted, Hernandez was in second place with around 16 per cent of the vote, with entrepreneur Rakhi Kumar Singh Israni in third on approximately 13 per cent.
Wahab’s rise has been remarkable given her background. Born to Afghan refugees and placed in foster care after losing both her parents, she has earned endorsements from prominent national Democrats including Representatives Maxwell Frost and Pramila Jayapal, and is widely seen as a rising figure within the party.
The seat became vacant after Swalwell, once considered one of the Democratic Party’s rising stars and a frontrunner in the California governor’s race, resigned from Congress in mid-April following sex abuse accusations that rocked his campaign. He denied the claims but stepped aside from both the governor’s race and his congressional seat. The gubernatorial race has since moved on, with Democratic former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra topping the primary, followed by Republican and former Fox News personality Steve Hilton.
The two contests — the special election and the primary race for the full-term seat — are being run on slightly different boundaries. Governor Gavin Newsom had the state’s congressional maps redrawn in response to Republican redistricting efforts in Texas, with the new boundaries applying to the regular primary but not to Tuesday’s special election.
