California Sends First Afghan American Aisha Wahab To Congress

India-West News Desk

SACRAMENTO, CA – California State Senator Aisha Wahab of California who  once  earned  the wrath of several Hindu groups by introducing a bill that would have made the state the first in the nation to outlaw caste-based discrimination, has won a special election for the US House, defeating former Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez and becoming the first Afghan American elected to Congress.

Wahab’s historic win became clear late August 20 after two days of ballot counting. With about 95% of the vote counted as of August 21, she had about 53% of the vote to Hernandez’s 47%, with some ballots still outstanding, according to the Associated Press.

The race drew millions of dollars in spending from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, which backed Hernandez and sought to defeat Wahab. A progressive Democrat, Wahab did not make foreign policy the main focus of her campaign but has said she believes Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza amount to genocide.

She previously became the first Muslim woman and first Afghan American elected to the California Legislature.

Wahab will fill the remainder of the term of Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress in April while campaigning for governor of California. Swalwell had faced allegations of sexual assault and misconduct from several women. The FBI has also executed multiple search warrants involving Swalwell, including at his home and seized several electronic devices from the former congressman.

The California 14th Congressional District is solidly Democratic. Once Wahab is sworn in, Democrats will have 213 members in the House, compared with 218 Republicans.