Voters in the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday advanced state Sen. Aisha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez in the special primary election that will decide who will fill the remainder of former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s congressional seat.
The highest-profile contenders in the special primary for California’s 14th Congressional District were Wahab and another Democrat, Bay Area Rapid Transit Director Melissa Hernandez. Among the Republicans in the race were real estate investor and former tech executive Wendy Huang and small business owner Dena Maldonado.
The district heavily favors Democrats and covers much of the East Bay, including parts of Dublin, Fremont, Hayward, and Livermore.
If any candidate received more than 50% of the vote, that candidate would have won outright and serve the rest of the term through January 2027. If no candidate gets a majority, the top two finishers – regardless of party – advance to a runoff election on August 18, 2026.
Tuesday’s special election is only to see who fills the remainder of Swalwell’s current term, which expires in January 2027. In California’s June 2 primary election for the next congressional term, Wahab and Hernandez finished first and second, respectively, and advanced to the November general election, guaranteeing the seat remains in Democratic hands.
Swalwell resigned from Congress in April, days after ending his campaign for California governor, following multiple accusations of sexual misconduct that he has denied.
Polls closed at 8 p.m. in California.
