Aisha Wahab

Wahab was born in New York, New York, and now lives in Hayward, California. According to her campaign website, she was raised in the Fremont area, and she graduated from Kennedy High School in Fremont.[1][2] She earned a B.A. in political science from San Jose State University and an MBA from California State University, East Bay, and her campaign website lists a doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California.[1][2] Her career experience includes work as an IT manager, IT business consultant and senior management analyst in finance, and her campaign website says she managed operations and led large teams before entering elected office.[1][2] Before holding office she chaired the Alameda County Human Relations Commission, served on the boards of the Afghan Coalition, Tri-City Volunteers and Adobe Services, and helped found the President's Advisory Council of the American University of Afghanistan.[1][2]

Wahab was elected to the Hayward City Council in 2018, which her campaign website describes as making her the first Afghan American woman elected to public office in the United States, and she became mayor pro tempore in 2020. She served on the council until 2022.[1][2] In 2022 she was elected to the California State Senate, District 10, the first Afghan American elected to the California Legislature according to her campaign website. She was sworn in on December 5, 2022, and later served as Senate assistant majority leader.[1][2][7] In the state Senate she chaired the Senate Housing Committee beginning in 2025, according to Wikipedia and Ballotpedia, and her campaign website lists her as chair of the Business, Professions, and Economic Development Committee.[1][2][7]

Wahab won the August 18, 2026 special general election for California's 14th Congressional District over fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez, to fill the seat vacated by Eric Swalwell, and NBC Bay Area reported that she was sworn in on September 2, 2026.[8][3][9] She finished first in the June 2 primary with 38.3% and was also on the November 3 ballot for the full term.[8] She won the November 3, 2026 general election for the full term with 57.5% of the vote to Melissa Hernandez's 42.5%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News, with 66.9% of votes counted.[4]