{"id":1114,"date":"2026-06-03T16:42:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T16:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1114"},"modified":"2026-06-03T16:42:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T16:42:18","slug":"wahab-takes-early-lead-in-vote-for-eric-swalwells-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1114","title":{"rendered":"Wahab takes early lead in vote for Eric Swalwell’s replacement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FREMONT \u2014 State Sen. Aisha Wahab was leading Tuesday in a race that could be the first of four elections this year for two separate terms to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress and abandoned his gubernatorial campaign due to sexual misconduct allegations.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m shocked to say the least,\u201d Wahab told this news organization shortly after early returns were first posted online Tuesday. \u201cI\u2019m just very proud of the district. I\u2019m proud that they\u2019re able to see the work that I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The June 2 primary was the first of two primaries voters will face this month, with a special election primary scheduled on June 16. Voters in the June 2 primary chose between nine candidates seeking to permanently replace Swalwell for a full two-year term starting January 2027. The June 16 primary will be to decide which candidate among a separate pool of 11 hopefuls will fill the remainder of this year\u2019s term.<\/p>\n

A candidate can get 50% plus one vote to outright win the primaries, otherwise the top two candidates in each primary will move on to two separate general elections \u2014 Aug. 18 for the partial term and Nov. 3 for the full term.<\/p>\n

Early returns Tuesday night showed Wahab in the lead with 34.72% of the vote. She was followed by BART Board President Melissa Hernandez, with early returns showing she had 16.16% of the vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis vote shows that we\u2019ve been able to work with so many people and our message makes sense to people. Good policy is good policy,\u201d Wahab said. \u201cI represent this district, I grew up in this district and I will continue to fight for this district, regardless of what the outcome is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other candidates in the race include small business owner Rakhi Israni, businesswoman Carin Elam, San Leandro Councilmember Victor Aguilar, Jr., graphic designer Matt Ortega, Republicans Dena Maldonado and Wendy Huang, and independent Suzanne Chenault.<\/p>\n

Several candidates in Tuesday\u2019s primary, including Wahab, Israni, Hernandez, and Huang, are also running in the June 16 special election. But Wahab said, assuming Tuesday\u2019s results held through the next two weeks, that the other candidates should step aside for the temporary term.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think the voters spoke. We\u2019re going to continue to monitor the results as they pour in,\u201d Wahab said.\u00a0\u201cI think for the good of the nation, the other opponents need to back out. We have to listen to the voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hernandez did not return a request for comment Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Paulette \u201cPJ\u201d Serano, a 61-year-old Hayward resident, said she voted Tuesday night at the Fremont Main Library on Stevenson Boulevard. She said she voted for Wahab because she felt Wahab would \u201clook out for the underdog.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith all of the changes going on, this race is super important,\u201d Serano told this news organization.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

She was joined by her daughter, Mackelle \u201cMack\u201d Serano, a 32-year-old Fremont resident, who also voted for Wahab.<\/p>\n

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Mackelle Serano said she helped her mother study the candidates and they both decided to choose Wahab because \u201cshe\u2019s young, she\u2019s progressive, she has a fresh take.\u201d She said that, compared to the other candidates, Wahab presented \u201csomething new\u201d to the office, and she liked the senator\u2019s \u201cenergy\u201d on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n

Wahab, the first Afghan-American Muslim woman elected to the state Senate, fielded attack ads from Israni and her supporters, a first-time Fremont politician and Indian American small business owner who added more than $1.2 million into her own campaign.<\/p>\n

Israni told this news organization Tuesday night that she felt \u201cexcited\u201d with the results, and that \u201cthe process has been awesome, the enthusiasm is amazing across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the days leading up to the June 2 election, Israni turned up the heat with attack ads against Wahab.<\/p>\n

She criticized Wahab\u2019s 2023 legislation, Senate Bill 403, titled the \u201cDiscrimination on the basis of ancestry\u201d bill, a first-of-its-kind law which sought to ban caste discrimination in California. Although both the state Senate and Assembly passed the bill, it died after a veto from Gov. Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n

Israni\u2019s campaign texted voters, alleging that \u201cWahab has claimed that Indian Americans murder, rape, and traffic people \u2013 and that we need to be policed.\u201d Israni said she decided to send those messages because, as one of the bill\u2019s top opposers, she felt the Indian community was \u201cleft out\u201d of discussions around it, and that the \u201cemotions around the caste bill are definitely strong in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some of Israni\u2019s attacks on Wahab may have resonated with some of her supporters, 28-year-old Sunol resident Harmony Sethi, an Indian-American voter, said she voted for Wahab particularly because of her previous anti-caste legislation.<\/p>\n

Sethi said Wahab \u201cseems like she cares a lot for the people around her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that anti-caste is an attack on Hinduism at all,\u201d Sethi said.<\/p>\n

Earlier in election season, Sethi said she considered Israni\u2019s campaign, but said she decided against supporting her after discovering her past political donations to MAGA-connected candidates such as Tusli Gabbard and Laura Loomer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just didn\u2019t feel like we aligned,\u201d Sethi said.<\/p>\n

Fremont resident Jonathon Mercado told this news organization he voted for Israni because \u201cshe had a really good, strong media presence and I feel like we aligned on a lot of issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mercado, 34, said he moved to Fremont a year ago from Southern California to work temporarily, admitting that he wasn\u2019t \u201cup to date\u201d on local political issues. He said Israni\u2019s campaign stood out because \u201cshe had a better presence\u201d online. He said he was not aware of Israni\u2019s past donations, but added that \u201cpeople change.\u201d<\/p>\n

If he had known prior to election day though, he said, \u201cI definitely would have reconsidered.\u201d He also said he was unsure if he would still vote for Israni in the upcoming special election.<\/p>\n

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Early returns showed Sen. Aisha Wahab leading with 36.18% of the vote<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWahab takes early lead in vote for Eric Swalwell’s replacement - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1114\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wahab takes early lead in vote for Eric Swalwell’s replacement - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Early returns showed Sen. 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