California lawmaker overcomes pro-Israel spending to win special election

California state Senator Aisha Wahab has won a special election to fill the seat of former United States Congressman Eric Swalwell, overcoming a deluge of attack ads funded by pro-Israel groups in the final weeks of the race.

Key points

• Wahab went on to win June's primary for the special election by a wide margin, with more than 42 percent of the vote to Hernandez's 17.
• Progressive candidates including Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed have overcome heavy spending from pro-Israel groups in the midterm primaries to advance to November's general election.
• It includes the southeastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, for the remainder of Swalwell's term, which ends in January.
• While pro-Israel groups have sought to shape elections through massive spending, such efforts have faced a number of high-profile setbacks nationwide during the 2026 midterm election season.
• When both women will compete for the chance to represent California's 14th district for a full two-year term, wahab will have a rematch against Hernandez in November.

US media outlets projected on Thursday that Wahab, a progressive, had beaten her rival, moderate Democrat Melissa Hernandez.

She will now represent California's 14th congressional district. It includes the southeastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, for the remainder of Swalwell's term, which ends in January.

"I will fight for this district that raised me, " Wahab remarked in an official note, adding that her victory indicates that her district "cannot be bought".

"From foster care to Congress, this journey shows the possibility of the American Dream."

Wahab, a longtime supporter of economic and social justice problems in California's state legislature, is due to become the first Afghan American member of the US Congress.

For context, the special election was triggered when Swalwell resigned in April, after reports of alleged sexual assault. It he denied.

For context, the race is the latest to test the influence of the pro-Israel lobby in the US, where backing for the country has dropped precipitously against the backdrop of its genocidal war on Gaza.

According to an Associated Press poll published in July, roughly a third of US adults believed Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a position backed by United Nations experts and rights groups.

While foreign policy was not a main pillar of her campaign, Wahab has echoed those views during her time in politics.

Last year, she co-authored a state resolution denouncing the "horrific humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza" and calling for an end to the war.

At a candidate forum in April, Wahab additionally answered "yes" when asked whether she believed what was happening to the Palestinian residents constituted a genocide.

Hernandez, by contrast, did not offer a direct answer. While Israel had a right to defend itself, the destruction in Gaza had gone "too far", she remarked that.

But the race tightened as the United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), spent almost $2.5m since early August to boost Hernandez, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, the news outlet CNN documented that BOLD America, another group that receives funding from AIPAC, additionally spent $1.9m.

Some of that spending, nevertheless, has gone to advertising that does not mention Israel or place the problem prominently.

One ad against Wahab, for instance, focused on misleading claims that she had weakened laws against the sex-trafficking of minors. Wahab published her own video, emphasising that she had produced it "illegal and a felony to traffic or solicit minors, across the board". She called the advertising "$5m of lies".

During her time in the state legislature, Wahab focused on problems such as housing affordability and authored a bill that would have banned caste-based discrimination. It was ultimately vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom.

"Congratulations Aisha Wahab on your decisive victory, " Ro Khanna, a progressive representative from California, remarked in response to Wahab's win. "I look forward to working with you on Medicare for All, a living wage, and ending the war in Iran."

Taken together, the developments around california lawmaker overcomes pro-Israel spending to win special election point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.