{
  "id": 2369658,
  "title": "Democrats rally behind progressive Aisha Wahab after win in California special election – US politics live",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/democrats-rally-behind-progressive-aisha-wahab-after-win-in",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-21T11:18:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Guardian US",
    "slug": "the-guardian-us",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/aug/21/democrats-progressive-election-politics-live"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Democratic Party rallied behind progressive candidate Aisha Wahab following her victory in the California special election, according to live US politics coverage. Wahab, who is the first Muslim woman and Afghan American elected to the California legislature, maintained a lead over her main opponent, Melissa Hernandez, throughout the race.\n\nThe win came after a contentious intra-party battle. Wahab secured the position formerly held by Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April amid sexual misconduct allegations, though he has denied those claims. In a surprising turn of events, Michael Cohen, former fixer to former President Donald Trump, shifted his stance and praised Trump during a friendly conversation on his radio show.\n\nMeanwhile, the White House faced new questions regarding the extent of access Natalie Harp, Trump's closest aide, had to classified information without proper security clearance. At a Rose Garden event to promote Melania Trump's efforts for foster children, the first lady playfully joked about her recent absence from public appearances, while her husband appeared to be disengaged.\n\nOne week after Trump ordered the redesign of the USS Doris Miller aircraft carrier, scrapping the modern electromagnetic launch system in favor of outdated steam-powered catapults, CNN reported that the navy is considering yet another change to the same ship. They are now considering the removal of the USS Miller's name, which honors a Black sailor who demonstrated heroism during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, and renaming it the USS Donald Trump instead.",
  "summary": "First Muslim woman and Afghan American elected to California legislature held lead throughout race over main opponent Melissa Hernandez Following a bitter intra-party battle, progressive Aisha Wahab has been elected to Congress in a special election to fill the seat formerly held by Eric Swalwell , who…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Dawn",
        "title": "Aisha Wahab makes history as first Afghan American elected to US Congress",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/aisha-wahab-makes-history-as-first-afghan-american-elected-to-us",
        "published": "2026-08-21T08:35:19.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Ajel English",
        "title": "Aisha Wahab becomes first Afghan American woman elected to US Congress",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/aisha-wahab-becomes-first-afghan-american-woman-elected-to-us-congress",
        "published": "2026-08-21T10:12:34.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}