Aisha Wahab has won a special runoff election held to fill California’s 14th Congressional District seat, left vacant after former US Representative Eric Swalwell resigned over sexual harassment allegations. According to results announced Thursday night, she has achieved the distinction of becoming the first Afghan-American elected as a member of the US House of Representatives (Congress). Anadolu Agency reported the development.
With 100 percent of ballots counted, the Democratic Party candidate won 53.1 percent of the total vote. Her rival, fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez, received 46.9 percent of the vote.
It may be noted that Aisha Wahab was previously the first Muslim and first Afghan-American elected to the California state Senate. She ran her campaign on a progressive Democratic platform, which included expressed support for Palestine.
Her rival, Melissa Hernandez, campaigned on a pro-Israel platform. She received substantial financial support for her campaign from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
According to a Politico report, of the $4 million spent on behalf of both candidates since this past July, roughly $3.7 million went to Hernandez. Roughly $3 million of her funding came from AIPAC alone.
In an interview about her victory, Aisha Wahab said: “Despite millions of dollars in outside spending, disinformation and false narratives, the ordinary people of my district recognized the truth and voted for me. I am extremely proud of the people of my district for that.”
Despite her defeat, however, Melissa Hernandez has expressed hope of winning in this coming November’s election. She said that, under the 14th District’s redrawn map, roughly 26,000 new voters are being added. She said she hopes to regain the support of voters in the city of Dublin, where she previously served as mayor, and to be able to close the vote margin.
Aisha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez will face off again on November 3, during the midterm period of the upcoming general election.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report