Aisha Wahab, Melissa Hernandez look to fill former Rep. Eric Swalwell's seat for full 2-year term
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGO) -- California lawmaker Aisha Wahab and Bay Area Rapid Transit Director Melissa Hernandez are vying for California District 14's seat after it was vacated by former Rep. Eric Swalwell following sexual assault allegations.
Swalwell, a Democrat who was running for California governor, ended his campaign and resigned from Congress in April after he was accused of sexual assault and harassment. He has denied the allegations.
Wahab defeated Hernandez in the state's 14th Congressional District special election in August to serve the rest of Swalwell's term, which ends in January.
Now the two are hoping to serve the next full two-year term.
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Wahab has championed housing affordability and access. She also wrote a 2023 bill to ban caste-based discrimination, which drew national attention. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it, saying civil rights protections already outlaw such discrimination.
Wahab became the first Afghan American elected to public office in the U.S. when she won a Hayward City Council seat in 2018. She is the first Afghan American to serve in Congress.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
