Challenger yet to emerge as Aisha Wahab advances in California's 14th District race to succeed Swalwell
Voters in California's 14th Congressional District on Tuesday advanced state Sen. Aisha Wahab in the race to succeed former Rep. Eric Swalwell, CBS News projects. Meanwhile, it remains unclear Friday who would face Wahab in the general election.
Wahab, a Democrat, was leading the contest with 23,296 votes (34.3%) as of Friday morning. Melissa Hernandez, a healthcare services director and also a Democrat, was in second place with 10,933 votes (16.09%).
Two Republican candidates were within 1,000 votes of Hernandez, with Wendy Huang at 10,839 votes (15.96%) and Dena Maldonado at 10,052 votes (14.8%).
Election officials in Alameda County are expected to provide updated results at 4 p.m. on Friday.
The top two-vote getters, regardless of political party, will face off in the general election in November.
Swalwell, who had launched a bid for governor and was not running for reelection, ended his gubernatorial campaign and resigned from Congress in April, following accusations of sexual misconduct that he denied.
A separate special election is set for June 16 to decide who will carry out the rest of Swalwell's term.
Nine candidates — six Democrats, two Republicans and one no party preference candidate — ran to represent the district, which encompasses a large swath of Alameda County.
Democrat Victor Aguilar, Jr. is a San Leandro City Council member who was elected in 2018. He calls himself a "pragmatic progressive" and touted his work on affordable housing and rent control during a pre-endorsement caucus held by the California Democratic Party.
Carin Elam is a Democratic nonprofit director who notes on her campaign website that her reason for running is to make healthcare more affordable and create an AI-resilient workforce.
Hernandez received endorsements from Democratic Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno; the mayors of Dublin and San Leandro, and Alameda County Supervisors Nate Miley and Elisa Marquez. Her campaign page states she is focused on cost-of-living issues, housing affordability and childcare costs.
Democrat Rakhi Israni is an educator and nonprofit attorney who is endorsed by U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, former Los Altos Mayor Pete Dailey and others. According to her campaign page, she is focused on fighting tariffs levied by the Trump administration, addressing Medicare drug prices, and banning stock trading and implementing a mandatory retirement age of 75 for members of Congress.
Graphic designer and businessman Matt Ortega, a Democrat, says on his campaign page that he is focused on healthcare affordability, energy and childcare costs.
Wahab, who serves as assistant majority leader in the state Senate, has been endorsed by the California Democratic Party and elected officials, including Attorney General Rob Bonta, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez, along with activists such as Dolores Huerta. Wahab states on her campaign page that she is committed to continuing her work on healthcare, housing and civil rights and consumer protections.
A real estate investor, Huang was endorsed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. She said on her campaign page that she is focused on public safety, the rule of law and affordability.
Business owner Dena Maldonado is focused on cracking down on insider trading and believes in putting America first, securing the border and cutting wasteful spending, according to her campaign.
No party preference candidate Suzanne Chenault is a human rights lawyer and teacher. According to her campaign website, one of her priorities is to restore federal departments and watchdogs that were affected by the Department of Government Efficiency.
