Wahab advances in special primary for Swalwell's vacant House seat
Aisha Wahab moved ahead in the special primary for Eric Swalwell’s House seat, keeping the East Bay district in Democratic hands as ballots are still being canvassed.
State Sen. Aisha Wahab advanced in Tuesday’s special primary for California’s 14th Congressional District, a race that will send a temporary successor to Washington for the final months of former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s term. AP live results showed Wahab leading with 82% of the vote counted, and the special general election is set for Aug. 18.
The contest fills a vacancy left when Swalwell resigned on April 13, after allegations reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued the special-election proclamation the next day, setting the primary for June 16 and the general election for Aug. 18. Whoever wins will serve only the remainder of Swalwell’s term, through January 2027, and will still have to compete in a separate regular-election cycle for a full term.
The race carries weight beyond Alameda County because California’s House delegation is central to the fight for the U.S. House majority in 2026. The district remains solidly Democratic, and Wahab carried that advantage into the special contest after the California Democratic Party endorsed her. She had already won the June 2 regular primary for the same seat, giving her a second path into the fall campaign.
The district itself was reshaped under Proposition 50, which voters approved on Nov. 5, 2025, and the new lines make the East Bay seat part of a broader regional battle over who speaks for Bay Area Democrats. In a county anchored by Hayward and the larger Alameda County electorate, Wahab’s advance points to a coalition still willing to rally behind a candidate with deep ties to the local Democratic base.
County and state election officials said the result will not be final until the canvass is complete, with certification due by June 25. For San Francisco, the outcome matters because control of Bay Area House seats can affect how much leverage local leaders have in Washington on federal housing funding, immigration policy and the broader struggle over the House majority. In a year when every California seat is being watched closely, this one stayed firmly in Democratic hands.
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