Progressives notch victory in race to replace Swalwell following sexual assault scandal

Progressive state Sen. and Assistant Majority Leader Aisha Wahab has bested Melissa Hernandez, a more moderate public transit executive, in a special election to replace disgraced Rep. Eric Swalwell.

The race between Wahab and Hernandez represented another front in the Democratic civil war between the party’s establishment and progressive wings.

Wahab counted on high-profile endorsements from California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and labor icon Dolores Huerta, while Hernandez relied on large sums of super PAC cash and endorsements from local officials.

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While progressive Democrats opened the election season strongly, securing high-profile victories in New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado and D.C., they have more recently underperformed on expectations in the Democratic primaries for Michigan’s Senate race and Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race.

Wahab was the strong favorite heading into Election Day, earning 42.8% of the vote in the special primary against Hernandez’s 16.8%.

California has "jungle primaries" in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election. Wahab and Hernandez, both Democrats, occupied the top two slots in the special primary, effectively shutting Republicans out of a district that Kamala Harris carried easily in the 2024 presidential election.

The special election, however, represents only a temporary victory because it determined who would serve out the remaining two months of Swalwell’s term. The two will likely face off again in November to determine who will serve a full two-year term in Congress.

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Though the victory is technically temporary, incumbents tend to have an advantage in elections. The general election will take place under slightly different district boundaries after California’s newly redrawn congressional map takes effect.

Some Democrats have pointed to recent underperformance by progressive candidates to argue that the socialist ascendancy within the party has been stymied, while others point to the continued popularity of socialist politicians and policies among young people as evidence to the contrary.

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On the campaign trail, Hernandez criticized Wahab primarily on ethical grounds for her alleged missteps during her time in Sacramento. Wahab, meanwhile, painted Hernandez as the beneficiary of conservative and pro-Israel money, challenging her liberal credentials.

Hernandez, for instance, accused Wahab of skirting campaign finance laws by routing $60,000 from her state campaign account through the Alameda County Democratic Party, which later funded pro-Wahab congressional mail.

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Wahab hit back with her own campaign finance-related attack, criticizing Hernandez for allegedly taking money from pro-Israel donors and benefiting from expenditures by pro-Israel super PACs.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a major flashpoint in the internal struggle for control of the Democratic Party, with progressives seeking to push out Democrats who support Israel.