California state Sen. Aisha Wahab has won the special election to succeed Democratic former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
With more than 95 percent of the vote counted, Wahab was leading fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez, the president of the Bay Area Rapid Transit board, 53 percent to 47 percent, when The Associated Press called the race for California’s 14th District on Thursday afternoon, two days after election day.
Wahab, a progressive, finished comfortably ahead of Hernandez in the June primary for the East Bay seat, but the race tightened in the months since. Outside groups, including the main super PAC of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, spent millions boosting the more moderate Hernandez in the closing weeks of the campaign.
“This victory belongs to the voters who made clear that our district cannot be bought,” Wahab, 39, said on social media Thursday.
Wahab’s victory echoes recent wins by progressives who overcame significant spending and fundraising disadvantages to defeat establishment-aligned opponents. Earlier this week, for example, Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon won the Democratic nomination for Senate despite being outraised by her more moderate opponent by a nearly 16-to-1 ratio.
