(Fremont, CA)State Sen. Aisha Wahab held a slim lead over Melissa Hernandez Tuesday night in the special runoff election to fill California's 14th Congressional District seat, vacated earlier this year by former Rep. Eric Swalwell.
With 59.3% of expected votes counted as of 11:27 p.m. ET, Wahab had 32,149 votes (51.4%) to Hernandez's 30,457 votes (48.6%) — a gap of fewer than 1,700 votes, according to NBC News. An estimated 43,000 votes remained outstanding.
The tight margin is a marked shift from the two Democrats' earlier matchups. Wahab won the June 16 special primary by more than 25 points, 42.8% to 16.8%, and posted a similarly lopsided result in the June 2 regular primary. Hernandez's ability to close the gap in Tuesday's head-to-head follows a heavy late spending push — roughly $3.7 million in outside money, much of it from AIPAC-aligned groups, backed her campaign in the final weeks.
The seat, entirely within Alameda County, will remain in Democratic hands regardless of the outcome. The winner will serve out the remainder of Swalwell's term through January, while Wahab and Hernandez are set to face off again in November for the full two-year term under newly redrawn district lines.
Vote counting continues as mail and provisional ballots are processed.
Results are unofficial and continuing to update.
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