Aisha Wahab
DIncumbentFEC H0CA15213
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Raised this cycle$1.2M
Cash on hand: $462K
2026 race
CA-14 — U.S. House
2 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: Aisha Wahab.
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How we got here · 2 earlier contests
Special election · Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Called by California Secretary of State (final official canvass); AP
Aisha WahabWon53.1%
- DMelissa HernandezDefeated46.9%
Primary · Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Called by California Secretary of State (certified Statement of Vote)
Top-two primary — Aisha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez advanced to the general election.
- DAisha WahabAdvanced to general38.3%
- DMelissa HernandezAdvanced to general17.2%
- RWendy Fiona HuangDefeated13.2%
- DRakhi IsraniDefeated12.9%
- RDena Marie MaldonadoDefeated12.1%
- DMatt OrtegaDefeated1.7%
- DCarin ElamDefeated1.4%
- Suzanne ChenaultDefeated1.1%
Election held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the California Secretary of State.
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$14M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Wendy Fiona Huang
RChallengerFEC H6CA14148
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Raised this cycle$41K
Cash on hand: $6K
Dena Marie Maldonado
RChallengerFEC H6CA14213
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Raised this cycle$0
Cash on hand: $0
Suzanne Chenault
IChallengerFEC H6CA14205
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Raised this cycle$0
Cash on hand: $0
6 defeated candidates — show
Rakhi Israni
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6CA14171
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Raised this cycle$2.4M
Cash on hand: $2K
Melissa Hernandez
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6CA14163
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Raised this cycle$2.1M
Cash on hand: $108K
Sheriene Ridenour
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6CA14239
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Raised this cycle$39K
Cash on hand: $38K
Matt Ortega
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6CA14155
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Raised this cycle$38K
Cash on hand: $0
Carin Elam
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6CA14189
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Raised this cycle$33K
Cash on hand: $0
Abrar Qadir
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6CA14130
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Raised this cycle$27K
Cash on hand: −$17K
Local signal
Early read on CA-14 — U.S. House
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Melissa Hernandezmixed
0 pos8 neutral0 neg8 articles
Aisha Wahabmixed
0 pos3 neutral0 neg3 articles
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 14, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle
Total disclosed
$14M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$5.9M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$8.1M
$5.1M for · $2.9M against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Wendy Fiona Huang(R) | $41K | — | — | $41K |
Suzanne Chenault | $0 | — | — | $0 |
Dena Marie Maldonado(R) − COMMITTEE FOR WORKING FAMILIES, SPONSORED BY LABOR ORGANIZATIONS $81K | $0 | — | $81K | −$81K |
Aisha Wahab(D)incumbent + COMMITTEE FOR WORKING FAMILIES, SPONSORED BY LABOR ORGANIZATIONS $684K + J STREET ACTION FUND $104K + AMERICAN PRIORITIES (AP) $90K − UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') $1.6M − BOLD AMERICA $611K − SD 2026 $165K | $1.2M | $942K | $2.4M | −$262K |
6 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Melissa Hernandez(D)defeated + BOLD AMERICA $1.8M + UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') $825K + PROJECT 218 $500K − AMERICAN PRIORITIES (AP) $210K − PROGRESSIVE PROMISE $200K | $2.1M | $3.8M | $410K | $5.5M |
Rakhi Israni(D)defeated + CALIFORNIA DEMOCRACY ALLIANCE $372K | $2.4M | $372K | — | $2.8M |
Sheriene Ridenour(D)defeated | $39K | — | — | $39K |
Matt Ortega(D)defeated | $38K | — | — | $38K |
Carin Elam(D)defeated | $33K | — | — | $33K |
Abrar Qadir(D)defeated | $27K | — | — | $27K |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside CA versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
Wendy Fiona Huang(R)96% in-state · $7K itemized
$7K in-state$300 out-of-state
Aisha Wahab(D)88% in-state · $553K itemized
$485K in-state$68K out-of-state
6 defeated candidates — show
Melissa Hernandez(D)defeated55% in-state · $1.8M itemized
$981K in-state$813K out-of-state
Rakhi Israni(D)defeated42% in-state · $949K itemized
$402K in-state$547K out-of-state
Sheriene Ridenour(D)defeated49% in-state · $3K itemized
$1K in-state$1K out-of-state
Matt Ortega(D)defeated43% in-state · $19K itemized
$8K in-state$11K out-of-state
Carin Elam(D)defeated100% in-state · $4K itemized
$4K in-state$0 out-of-state
Abrar Qadir(D)defeated95% in-state · $23K itemized
$22K in-state$1K out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Where they stand
Issue-by-issue comparison
Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.
| Statement | Wahab | Huang | Maldonado | Chenault | You |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abortion A national law should protect access to abortion in every state. | — | ||||
Criminal Justice The federal government should send more money to local police departments. | — | ||||
Digital Assets Cryptocurrency exchanges and tokens should be regulated under a dedicated digital-asset framework rather than existing securities law (CLARITY Act-style). | — | ||||
Economy The expanded child tax credit (refundable, paid monthly) should be made permanent. | — | ||||
Economy The federal government should require employers to provide paid family and medical leave. | — | ||||
Environment The government should set legally enforceable limits on greenhouse gas emissions. | — | ||||
Healthcare Medicare should be allowed to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. | — | ||||
Healthcare Enhanced ACA premium subsidies should be made permanent at expanded levels. | — | ||||
Housing The government should spend more building affordable housing. | — | ||||
Immigration People who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children should have a path to citizenship. | — | ||||
Immigration The U.S. should do more to enforce immigration laws and secure the border. | — | ||||
Social Security Future workers should have to wait longer to collect full Social Security. | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
Recent coverage
In the news
Melissa Hernandez
- Progressive Aisha Wahab wins California special election for Swalwell’s seatRoll CallAug 21
- California lawmaker Aisha Wahab wins special election to succeed Eric Swalwell in CongressAnchorage Daily NewsAug 21
- California lawmaker Aisha Wahab wins special election to succeed Eric Swalwell in CongressNew York PostAug 21
- Aisha Wahab wins special election to serve out remainder of former Rep. Eric SwalwellCBS NewsAug 20
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.