Progressive Aisha Wahab wins bid to finish Swalwell’s House term

Aug. 21 (UPI) — Progressive California state Sen. Aisha Wahab won a special election to the U.S. House of Representatives to replace Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April over ***ual blockault accusations.

Wahab was projected as the winner on Thursday afternoon, when the latest count showed her leading Melissa Hernandez. Wahab will finish out Swalwell’s term.

Wahab and Hernandez will compete for a full term in Congress in November.

Swalwell resigned his seat in April amid allegations of ***ual misconduct, including from one former staffer who said he raped her. Swalwell has denied the allegations. He also ended his bid for California governor.

“This victory belongs to the voters who made clear that our district cannot be bought,” Wahab said in a statement. “Through one of the ugliest, most expensive elections we’ve ever seen, we never took the bait or went negative. We stayed focused on the people, and I will fight for this district that raised me.”

Hernandez is a more moderate Democrat and is president of a Bay Area regional transit board. She received more than $6 million for television ads and mailers from outside PACs, several of them funded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Wahab had secured a 26-point lead in the primary, but Hernandez was able to narrow that gap.

In her concession statement, Hernandez said she hopes for a different outcome in November.

“I’ve been a fighter my whole life, and when I promised the residents of CA-14 I would fight for them, I never gave up,” Hernandez said.