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The race for a successor to represent California’s 14th Congressional District is heating up, with South Bay State Senator Aisha Wahab’s (D-Hayward) campaign up and running.
Wahab is on track for the state Democratic Party’s sought-after endorsement, giving her a leg up in the increasingly crowded field of Democratic candidates vying for the seat currently held by Rep. Eric Swalwell, which covers most of eastern Alameda County including the Tri-Valley.
The race for the seat is wide open as Swalwell campaigns for governor. Wahab, a former Hayward city councilmember, joins fellow Democrats Matt Ortega, Melissa Hernandez and Abrar Qadir in her bid for the seat. So far only one Republican, Wendy Huang, has joined the lineup.
Although California Democrats are still in the midst of their endorsement process. with formal announcements set for later in the primary election season, Wahab garnered a vast majority of votes – nearly 77% – according to results of the pre-endorsement conference that were made public this week.
Wahab is now in the final stretch of her term in the state’s 10th senate district representing northern Santa Clara county as well as Fremont and Hayward. She was elected as the first Afghani American woman to hold public office during her term on the Hayward City Council.
Her roots at the crossroads of the East Bay and Silicon Valley stretch back further, having attended Ohlone College, San Jose State University and CSU East Bay before earning a doctorate degree at the University of Southern California.
Wahab is running on a “back to basics” platform centered on affordability, jobs, healthcare, housing, and public safety issues that she believes are most impactful to everyday voters.
“I’m fighting for the American Dream we all believed in! One where working hard means you can own a home, take care of your family, and retire in dignity,” Wahab said. “We must get back to basics and that means serving the people we represent. I have done that on City Council and in State Senate.”
Wahab’s own trajectory, “from foster care to the State Capitol” is the essence of the “American Dream” according to her campaign.
“Her life story is one of resilience and barrier-breaking leadership—driven by the belief that government must serve people, not the powerful,” Wahab’s campaign said.
Having lost both parents at a young age, Wahab was adopted by a Fremont couple who raised her to understand “perseverance, service, and the American Dream,” according to her campaign.
However, Wahab’s family would go on to lose their home and business during the 2008 recession, during which she was also “laid off and priced out of her hometown,” according to campaign representatives, laying the groundwork for her advocacy for “renters, workers, and everyday families.”
“This fight is bigger than me — and long overdue,” Wahab said. “I’m running to keep fighting for the Bay Area we all deserve, and I can’t do it without you.”
More information is available at aishawahab.com.
