US elections: Aisha Wahab becomes first Afghan-American in Congress
US elections: Aisha Wahab becomes first Afghan-American in Congress Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 08/21/2026 - 18:19 Wahab will assume the seat of Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April, but she will still compete in the November midterms California State Senator Aisha Wahab speaks to reporters during an election night watch party at Firefighters Local 1909 in Hayward, California on 18 August 2026…
Aisha Wahab, a California state senator and first Afghan-American in the US Congress, has won a tight runoff election to represent the state's 14th district. Wahab, 39, will serve for the remainder of the term of Eric Swalwell, who resigned over sexual misconduct allegations earlier this year. She will still run in the November midterms but has not yet secured her own two-year term in the US House of Representatives.
AIPAC spent $2.5 million on attack ads against Wahab, who has accused Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza. Wahab, born in New York City but raised by an Afghan family in California, became the state's first Afghan and Muslim state senator in 2022.
Written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
