Wahab beats pro-Israel spending in California special election
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- Aisha Wahab, a progressive California state Senator, won the special election for the state's 14th congressional district, projected on Thursday to defeat moderate Democrat Melissa Hernandez and become the first Afghan American member of Congress.
- United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with AIPAC, spent nearly $2.5 million since early August to boost Hernandez; CNN reported that BOLD America, another AIPAC-funded group, spent an additional $1.9 million against Wahab.
- Wahab co-authored a California state resolution condemning the "horrific humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza" and at an April candidate forum answered "yes" when asked whether Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, while Hernandez declined to give a direct answer.
- Wahab won the June primary by a wide margin with 42% of the vote to Hernandez's 17%, and the two will face off again in November for a full two-year term representing the district, which includes the southeastern San Francisco Bay Area.
- The seat was vacated by Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April following reports of alleged sexual assault, which he denied.
- Pro-Israel outside spending has faced multiple high-profile setbacks in the 2026 midterm cycle, with Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed also overcoming heavy AIPAC-aligned spending in his primary.
- Ads against Wahab focused on misleading claims that she had weakened laws against sex-trafficking of minors; Wahab called the attacks "$5m of lies" and released her own video affirming she had made trafficking minors "illegal and a felony."
Why it matters: Wahab's victory represents the second consecutive defeat of AIPAC-aligned outside spending in 2026 midterm primaries, following Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed, suggesting the lobby's roughly $4.4 million blitz failed to move a district where roughly a third of US adults now believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, per a July AP poll. Both Wahab and Hernandez will now regroup for a November rematch for the full term.
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