2026 California's 14th congressional district special election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 California's 14th congressional district special election was held on June 16, 2026, to fill the vacant seat in California's 14th congressional district left by Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April after facing allegations of sexual misconduct. No candidate received a majority, so a runoff will be held on August 18 between Aisha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez. The winner of the runoff will serve in the United States House of Representatives for the remainder of the 119th United States Congress.[1]
.jpg)
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
June 16, 2026 (first round)
August 18, 2026 (runoff) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
California's 14th congressional district | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Wahab: 30–40% 40–50% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
Incumbent Representative Eric Swalwell did not seek re-election in 2026 and instead ran for governor of California. In April 2026, he faced allegations of sexual misconduct from several women.[2] Amid growing calls for him to withdraw, he suspended his gubernatorial campaign on April 12.[3] The following day, he announced his pending resignation from Congress,[4] which was filed and took effect on April 14.[5]
Governor Gavin Newsom announced on April 14 that the special election would be held on August 18,[6] but California special election rules state that the first round would be held on the ninth preceding Tuesday, June 16.[7] Over half of the unofficial candidates in the special election also filed to run in the regularly-scheduled election for California's 14th congressional district. April 23 was the filing deadline for candidates in the special election.[8]
In April 2026, regional Democratic leaders attempted to broker a "caretaker" agreement to avoid an August runoff. The goal was to secure a swift victory by clearing the candidate field for former State Senator Bob Wieckowski to serve as a placeholder for the rest of Swalwell's term. However, he made it clear he would only run if he received a unanimous endorsement from all major contenders.[9] The agreement fell apart when Aisha Wahab refused to sign on. Party leaders, including Representative Zoe Lofgren, had pushed the deal in hopes that a single unified candidate could clear the 50% threshold. Lofgren argued that the narrow margins in the House necessitated full representation to prevent crucial legislation from hypothetically failing by a single vote.[10] Various candidates who ran for the special election also ran in the regularly-scheduled election, including Wahab, Melissa Hernandez, Wendy Huang, Dena Maldonado, Rakhi Israni Singh and Tom Wong.[11]
Candidates
Advanced to runoff
- Melissa Hernandez (Democratic), Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors District 5, former mayor of Dublin, and candidate in the regular general election[12]
- Aisha Wahab (Democratic), state senator from the 10th district (2022–present), candidate for this district in 2020 and the regular general election[13]
Eliminated in primary
- Alisha Cordes (Democratic), business administrator and candidate in the regular primary election
- Wendy Huang (Republican), retired tech executive and candidate in the regular primary election
- Dena Maldonado (Republican), florist and withdrawn candidate in the regular primary election
- Sheriene Ridenour (Democratic), administrative law judge
- Rakhi Israni Singh (Democratic), attorney and candidate in the regular primary election
- Jot Thiara (Democratic), businessman and Republican candidate for CA-01 in the 2026 special election
- Tom Wong (Republican), small business owner and candidate for this district in 2022
- Jack Wu (Republican), educator
- Victor Zevallos (No party preference), financial business strategist[14]
Declined
- Victor Aguilar Jr. (Democratic), San Leandro city councilor (2018–present) and candidate in the regular primary election (endorsed Wieckowski)[15]
- Carin Elam (Democratic), nonprofit founder and candidate in the regular primary election (endorsed Wieckowski)[15]
- Steve Glazer (Democratic), former state senator from the 7th district (2015–2024) and candidate for California state controller in 2022 (endorsed Wieckowski)[16]
- Matt Ortega (Democratic), former digital director for the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign and candidate in the regular primary election (endorsed Wieckowski)[15]
- Bob Wieckowski (Democratic), former state senator from the 10th district (2014–2022) and candidate for this district in 2020[15]
First round
Endorsements
- Newspapers
- U.S. representatives
- Zoe Lofgren, CA-18 (1995–present)[15]
- State legislators
- Steve Glazer (Democratic), former SD-07 (2015–2024)[16]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Aisha Wahab | 52,961 | 42.8 | |
| Democratic | Melissa Hernandez | 20,731 | 16.8 | |
| Democratic | Rakhi Israni Singh | 15,910 | 12.9 | |
| Republican | Wendy Huang | 11,407 | 9.2 | |
| Republican | Dena Maldonado | 11,188 | 9.0 | |
| Republican | Tom Wong | 5,075 | 4.1 | |
| Democratic | Sheriene Ridenour | 2,489 | 2.0 | |
| Republican | Jack Wu | 2,101 | 1.7 | |
| No party preference | Victor Zevallos | 831 | 0.7 | |
| Democratic | Alisha Cordes | 713 | 0.6 | |
| Democratic | Jot Thiara | 271 | 0.2 | |
| Total votes | 123,677 | 100.0 | ||
Runoff
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Melissa Hernandez | ||||
| Democratic | Aisha Wahab | ||||
| Total votes | |||||
| Democratic hold | |||||