California state Sen. Aisha Wahab has won the special election to fill the remainder of former Rep. Eric Swalwell's term in the 14th Congressional District, according to projections from the Associated Press. Wahab will represent the district, which covers parts of Alameda County on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, until January 2027.

Swalwell, a Democrat who was running for governor, resigned from Congress in April after facing multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment, which he has denied. He acknowledged "mistakes in judgment I've made in my past" while denying the accusations.

Wahab defeated Bay Area Rapid Transit Director Melissa Hernandez in Tuesday's special general election. New vote totals from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters indicated Wahab's lead was insurmountable with remaining votes still to be counted. With 92% of votes counted, Wahab led by just over six points, according to the Guardian.

The race was marked by significant outside spending. The United Democracy Project, a super PAC backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), spent $1.2 million in support of Hernandez and in opposition to Wahab, according to Federal Election Commission records. Another group, Bold America, spent about $1.7 million on the race since the special primary. Collectively, outside groups spent about $4.1 million since mid-July, with about $3.7 million benefiting Hernandez's campaign and just shy of $400,000 benefiting Wahab's, CBS News reported.

Wahab said she was proud of the district for seeing through the outside money. "I am very proud of this district looking at the millions of dollars of outside money pouring in with false rhetoric, false narratives, and false records, and seeing through it and voting for me," she told CBS News Bay Area. In a statement, she said her victory shows her district "cannot be bought." "I will fight for this district that raised me," she said. "From foster care to Congress, this journey shows the possibility of the American Dream."

Wahab becomes the first Afghan American to serve in Congress. She was the first Afghan American elected to public office in the U.S. when she won a Hayward City Council seat in 2018. She is also the first Muslim woman and Afghan American elected to the California legislature, according to the Guardian.

In her time in the legislature, Wahab has championed housing affordability and access. She also wrote a 2023 bill to ban caste-based discrimination, which drew national attention but was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said such discrimination is already outlawed by civil rights protections.

Wahab's victory came despite a late surge of outside spending and criticism from Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who endorsed Hernandez. Lofgren said Wahab did not back an effort to elect a caretaker candidate to fill Swalwell's seat quickly. In a video, Lofgren said that when she asked Wahab to rally around a single candidate, Wahab told her and staff, "What's in it for me?" Lofgren questioned Wahab's "fitness for service" as the House worked to pass the War Powers Act, which Lofgren said later failed by a single vote. Lofgren referred to Hernandez as a "solid candidate."

Amar Shergill, former chair of the progressive caucus, called Lofgren's actions "astounding," according to the Guardian. Wahab accused AIPAC and her opponent's supporters of "lies, desperate personal attacks, and racist dog whistles."

The race also touched on the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. At an April candidate forum, Wahab answered "yes" when asked if she considered what is happening to the Palestinian people to be a genocide. Hernandez said Israel had a right to defend itself but that the destruction in Gaza "has gone too far."

Wahab congratulated Hernandez on a competitive race. Hernandez said she was proud to have put up a fight and that she has been a fighter her whole life.

The special election was called after Swalwell's resignation, and voters in the heavily Democratic district advanced both Democrats in a June 16 primary. Wahab advanced with 42% of the vote, Hernandez with 16%. Early voting and vote-by-mail for the special election began on July 20, and Election Day voting hours were 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Wahab's win is a temporary one: Voters in Alameda County will vote again in November for the same seat, with the same candidates, to determine who serves the next full two-year term. Early voting for that election begins Oct. 5, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

The district includes the cities of Hayward, Fremont, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, San Jose and Santa Clara, as reported by CBS News, as well as Hayward, Livermore, Pleasanton and Union City, according to another CBS report.