Aisha Wahab Leading Race for Swalwell’s Former Congressional Seat

Nine people were running for the seat, representing California’s 14th Congressional District, which comprises all of Livermore, Pleasanton, Union City and Hayward as well as portions of Fremont and Dublin.

The seat, formerly the 15th District, had been held since 2013 by Eric Swalwell, who did not seek reelection to Congress because he was running for governor.

In April, Swalwell dropped out of the governor’s race and later resigned from Congress after accusations of sexual assault and other misconduct were lodged against him by multiple women.

Swalwell’s resignation triggered a special primary election on June 16 to fill the rest of his term, in addition to the June 2 primary to select two candidates for November’s general election.

“With all the noise, all the millions of dollars in this race, the outside influence that is in federal politics, as well as the amount of people running,” Wahab said Tuesday, “people saw what we’ve done and what we will continue to do, from Hayward City Council all the way to the senate, and hopefully in Congress.”

The race included six Democrats, two Republicans and one candidate with no party preference.

Business owner Dena Maldonado, who earned the Republican Party of California’s endorsement, was running fourth, with roughly 14% of the initial votes.

Hernandez, the current president of the BART Board of Directors and the former mayor of Dublin, said it’s been a race where people were holding onto ballots, meaning many have not been counted yet, so the landscape of the race could change.

“We’ve been working really hard,” she said Tuesday, “We’ve been walking and talking to residents.”

Other candidates in the race included Suzanne Chenault, a no-party-preference attorney; and Democrats Carin Elam, a businesswoman; Matt Ortega, a graphic designer; Rakhi Israni Singh, an educator; and Victor Aguilar, a San Leandro City Council member.