AIPAC suffers another setback as Aisha Wahab becomes first Afghan-American woman elected to US Congress

Washington: Progressive Democratic candidate Aisha Wahab has won a special election for California's 14th Congressional District, becoming the first Afghan-American woman elected to the US Congress.

Wahab defeated fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez by more than 20 percentage points in the election held to fill the vacancy left by Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April following sexual misconduct allegations.

The contest was marked by an intense internal battle within the Democratic Party. Wahab, a California state senator who maintained an early lead in the East Bay district, received strong backing from the California Democratic Party, Our Revolution, labour unions, local elected representatives and the state attorney general.

In a statement issued on Thursday after her victory was confirmed, Wahab said her journey from foster care to Congress was a testament to the American dream.

“By electing an Afghan-American woman to Congress for the first time, this district has made history today,” she said.

Wahab will serve only the remainder of Swalwell's term, which ends on January 20 next year. However, she is expected to face Hernandez again in a closely contested race for a full term in the election scheduled for next November.

Wahab was born in New York City in 1987 to Afghan parents who had fled Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. Her father was killed shortly after her birth, while her mother died not long afterwards. Wahab and her sister subsequently grew up in the foster care system before being adopted at the age of nine by an Afghan-American couple in Fremont.

In 2018, Wahab was elected to the Hayward City Council, becoming the first Afghan-American woman to hold public office in the United States. She went on to make history again in 2022 when she became the first Muslim woman elected to the California State Senate.

Although Wahab maintained a strong lead throughout much of the campaign, her opponent's campaign received a major boost after the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC invested heavily in the race. With 95% of votes counted after Tuesday's polling, Wahab's lead had reportedly narrowed to just 6 percentage points.

Reports said AIPAC spent more than $5 million during the final weeks of the campaign on advertisements supporting Hernandez and attacking Wahab. According to data from Track AIPAC, which monitors the financial activities of various groups in US politics, the lobby group spent around $6.4 million in support of Hernandez alone.

The result is being seen as another setback for pro-Israel lobbying groups. Earlier, Egyptian-American Dr Abdul El-Sayed secured victory in a Democratic primary for the US Senate, overcoming opposition and an extensive campaign spending effort reportedly exceeding $60 million by pro-Israel groups.