Aisha Wahab becomes first Afghan American elected to US Congress after California special election

Aisha Wahab, who is of Afghan-American descent, made history by being the first to be elected to the U.S. Congress following a special election. Her success underscores a significant and evolving shift towards progressive values within the Democratic Party, particularly reflected in recent primary victories across various states. This rise of progressive lawmakers has sparked concern among establishment Democrats, indicating a possible change in the landscape of American politics.

WASHINGTON: Aisha Wahab, a California state senator, has won a special election, becoming the first Afghan American elected to Congress. Wahab, a Democrat and prominent member of the party’s progressive wing, defeated fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez in a closely fought election in California’s 14th Congressional District, overcoming millions of dollars in outside spending directed against her campaign. The result was formally announced on Thursday. Her victory gives Afghan Americans and Muslims a new presence on Capitol Hill while highlighting the growing influence of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Wahab had been widely expected to win. She finished more than 25 percentage points ahead of Hernandez in the June primary, but the final contest proved much closer. With most of the votes counted, Wahab led by roughly six percentage points. The race took an unexpected turn after outside groups poured millions of dollars into the contest. Groups associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spent an estimated $6.3 million to $6.4m on advertising supporting Hernandez and attacking Wahab, according to campaign finance reports. The scale of the spending helped turn what had appeared to be a comfortable Wahab advantage into a surprisingly close contest. Wahab will serve the remaining months of the term of former representative Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April after facing allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied. The special election was held to fill the remainder of his term, but Wahab and Hernandez will face each other again in November in a contest for the full two-year term. Wahab was born in Queens, New York, to Afghan refugees who had fled Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980s. Her father was murdered when she was young, and the case of his killing was never solved. Her mother died shortly afterward, leaving Wahab and her sister in foster care. The sisters were eventually adopted by an Afghan couple in Fremont, California, where Wahab was raised. “I will fight for this district that raised me,” she said in a statement. “From foster care to Congress, this journey shows the possibility of the American Dream.” Wahab attended John F. Kennedy High School and Ohlone College before earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from San Jose State University in 2010. She later earned a doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California. In 2022, she won election to the California State Senate, becoming the first Muslim and Afghan American elected to that chamber. Her election to Congress now gives Afghan Americans a historic first at the federal level. Wahab has been a critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. She has described Israel’s invasion of Gaza as genocide and expressed support for a free Palestine. She also supports the demand for ending US military aid to Israel, distinguishing between humanitarian assistance and weapons support. In 2025, Wahab co-authored a California Senate resolution, with input from the bipartisan California Legislative Jewish Caucus, calling for an end to the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Wahab’s victory comes amid a broader rise of progressive Muslim politicians in American elections. In Michigan, Muslim physician Abdul El-Sayed recently won the Democratic nomination for the US Senate, defeating Representative Haley Stevens in a closely watched primary in which pro-Israel groups spent tens of millions of dollars against him.