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Democrat Aisha Wahab has collected nearly half of the votes counted so far in a crowded special election for Congressional District 14, good for a comfortable lead on Election Night but not enough to avoid a runoff for the vacant seat.
Wahab currently sits at 42.37% (45,380 votes), according to the unofficial results Tuesday night by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters’ Office.
Behind her are Democrats Melissa Hernandez with 16.66% (17,848 votes) and Rakhi Israni Singh with 13.22% (14,160 votes). The other eight candidates in the race have each collected a maximum of single-digit percentages so far.
Each is vying for the months-long term formerly held by Rep. Eric Swalwell, who stepped down amid sexual assault allegations.
With a term lasting into January, the post represents areas including Livermore, Pleasanton, Castro Valley, Hayward, Union City and Fairview and parts of Dublin, Fremont, San Lorenzo, San Leandro and Mountain House.
A candidate who garners over 50% of the votes during the primary is poised to win the seat outright. Otherwise, the top two hopefuls will move onto a special runoff election Aug. 18.
Assuming the current trends reflect the final ballot count, Wahab and Hernandez will go head-to-head in the special runoff election this summer – the same two-Democrat matchup all but confirmed for the November runoff for the next two-year term for District 14, for which a regular primary election was held two weeks ago.
“This has been a truly grassroots effort, and I wouldn’t be where I am tonight without them,” Hernandez told the Pleasanton Weekly in an email interview Tuesday evening. “I feel confident these results will hold, and I’ll be in the top two.”
Wahab and Israni did not respond for comment Tuesday evening.
Behind the top three vote-getters are Republicans Wendy Huang (9.25%), Dena Maldonado (8.85%) and Tom Wong (4.31%), Democrat Sheriene Ridenour (2.04%), Republican Jack Wu (1.76%), Victor Zevallos of no party preference (0.69%), Democrat Alisha Cordes (0.60%) and Republican Jot Thiara (0.23%).
The next update to election results is scheduled for Friday (June 19).
In a statement Tuesday, Huang said she will not concede the special primary election or the June 2 regular primary election amid allegations of Maldonado being an inauthentic candidate — a claim Maldonado has denied.
Huang’s campaign has submitted relevant questions to the Alameda County and California Republican Party chairwomen, according to the statement.
“I am withholding any concession until we receive a transparent public accounting regarding the party’s deeply irregular endorsement of Dena Maldonado — a candidate whose operation mirrors the dangerous “ghost candidate” tactics used to subvert elections nationally,” Huang said in the statement.
