State of play: What to know about California showdown to replace Swalwell after massive scandal

The special election to fill the seat vacated by former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., remained undecided in the early Wednesday morning hours.

The battle to succeed Swalwell comes after he resigned in April amid sexual assault allegations from at least five women. Prior to the allegations, Swalwell was also making a bid for California’s gubernatorial race, but he dropped that bid as well.

Vying for Swalwell’s seat are two women: progressive state Sen. Aisha Wahab and moderate Democrat and Bay Area Rapid Transit Board (BART) President Melissa Hernandez.

Tuesday’s primary race will determine who will immediately fill Swalwell’s seat for the remainder of the term. However, it is also serving as the primary race for the midterms, meaning that Wahab and Hernandez will face each other again in November.

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Wahab and Hernandez both emerged as the “top-two” vote getters in the special election’s jungle primary race held on June 16 for California’s 14th Congressional District. Under California law, elections have open primaries, meaning whoever the top vote getters are, regardless of their party affiliation, will move on to the general election.

The race between Hernandez and Wahab mirrors a larger trend reflected across Democratic primary races, as far-left progressive candidates, often backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, are seeking to defeat establishment-backed Democratic candidates.

Wahab, who has served in the state Senate since 2022, is running on a campaign platform centered on cracking down on ICE, having co-authored legislation making it easier for citizens to sue agents, lowering prescription drug prices and pushing for investments in green and renewable energy. She has received the backing of Our Revolution, a group that was founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Attorney General Rob Bonta, and fellow progressives Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Congressman Greg Casar.

Hernandez, on the other hand, has taken a moderate approach on key issues such as immigration. Hernandez, who is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, acknowledged that the immigration system is “broken” but that she “supports smart border security and regional cooperation.”

She has received the endorsement of close to a dozen Congressional members.

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But despite Wahab’s critical stance of ICE, she found herself in the hot seat when her father took to Facebook calling for his daughter’s supporters to “call ICE” on Hernandez. The mishap led to Wahab’s campaign to issue an apology on its website.