Democratic state Sen. Aisha Wahab has won the special election in California’s 14th District, NBC News projects, and will serve out the remaining months of former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s term.
Swalwell resigned from Congress in April amid allegations of sexual assault, which he has denied.
Wahab defeated Melissa Hernandez, a fellow Democrat who serves on the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors, in the special election after the two received the most votes in the June 16 primary. The race moved to a one-on-one contest after no one secured a majority of the vote.
Wahab took 43% to Hernandez’s 17% in the initial primary, but Tuesday’s election was much closer. With 95% of the expected vote in, Wahab led 53% to 47%.
A super PAC aligned with the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent heavily in the race’s final weeks, dropping about $2.5 million against Wahab.
Wahab has said Israel’s conduct in its war against Hamas in Gaza is genocide, and her campaign website includes a statement panning “AIPAC-linked dark-money PACs” trying to “tear Aisha Wahab down.” Hernandez, meanwhile, was the only candidate who did not answer “yes” when asked if Israel was committing a genocide during an April forum.
It’s the latest race shaped by the pro-Israel group’s millions. Some of these efforts have been successful: House candidates that benefitted from millions in AIPAC-linked cash won key victories in states like Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland.
But the group’s preferred candidates have also fallen short in high-profile races in New Jersey, Illinois, and most recently in Michigan, where United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-linked super PAC, spent more than $30 million to boost Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost her Senate primary to former public health official Abdul El-Sayed.
