A STATE LAWMAKER representing parts of Santa Clara and Alameda counties might be angling for a congressional seat in the East Bay. Her candidacy would leave her own seat in the California Legislature up for grabs — if she decides to jump into the race.
A new federal candidate filing suggests 10th District state Sen. Aisha Wahab has her eye on Congressional District 14, which covers most of Alameda County. The congressional seat is up for grabs this election year without its powerful incumbent, Rep. Eric Swalwell, who’s instead competing in a crowded race to become governor. Wahab’s own state Senate seat — which covers Hayward, Union City, Newark, Fremont, Milpitas and parts of San Jose, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale — is also up for reelection this year, though she isn’t termed out. Her potential candidacy for Congress would open up another highly-competitive Silicon Valley race.
Wahab declined to comment on seeking Swalwell’s open seat.
“(We’d be) happy to discuss during a formal announcement,” a spokesperson for her campaign told San José Spotlight.
Wahab’s Jan. 5 filing indicates she could hold off on running until the 2028 election, when the two-year congressional office is up for grabs again. Her 2026 state Senate reelection campaign committee remains active, according to state campaign finance records.
Congressional seat could be ‘a good fit’
Santa Clara County Democratic Party Chair Bill James said it makes sense for Wahab to express interest in that seat. She previously announced a run for Swalwell’s seat in the old Congressional District 15 in 2020, when Swalwell waded into the presidential primaries that year. But Swalwell ultimately reneged and ran for reelection in the House.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she were considering that possibility,” James told San José Spotlight. “I think the seat in some ways seems like a good fit for her in the sense that her political base was in Hayward. She was elected to the City Council with a big vote in Hayward. She had a strong base there. And that was what allowed her to successfully run for state Senate.”
Wahab became the first Muslim Afghan American elected to the state Legislature in 2022. Before that, she brought her personal experience in the foster care system to her work on the Hayward City Council.
Wahab’s first few months in the legislature were trying. Previously speaking to this news outlet, she recounted times where some of her own colleagues claimed she didn’t belong in the state Senate, questioning what she ate and wore.
“I think the seat in some ways seems like a good fit for her in the sense that her political base was in Hayward. … She had a strong base there. And that was what allowed her to successfully run for state Senate.”
Bill James, Santa Clara County Democratic Party Chair
A Republican-led recall committee also sprang up to unseat her, alleging Wahab wasn’t fit for her job. Those efforts were largely spurred by Wahab’s efforts to pass Senate Bill 403, a first-of-its-kind bill that would include discrimination based on caste under the state’s civil rights act. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it last October, saying existing laws already prohibit such discrimination. The recall campaign then expanded to include opposition to other efforts from Wahab, including Senate Bill 460 which failed to pass but would have prohibited landlords from asking about a prospective tenant’s criminal background, according to Legiscan.
The recall effort against her failed in 2024, after a petition flaw invalidated thousands of signatures.
Wahab has seen dozens of her bills signed into law in recent years. Those include removing loopholes in rape laws with Senate Bill 258, which removes statutory exceptions to rape when the victim is a spouse with a disability preventing legal consent. In 2024, she successfully championed Senate Bill 926, which expands anti-revenge porn laws by prohibiting unauthorized distribution of AI-generated, and sexually explicit, images of real people.
Many potential suitors for Wahab’s seat
James said Wahab’s state Senate seat would be highly competitive if open.
“The pool of people who might be interested in running for that seat could be large, especially since it straddles populated communities in both Santa Clara County and Alameda County,” James said. “It’s a big district that spans lots of political jurisdictions that have people who might consider themselves as being good candidates to run for that seat.”
Other candidates for Swalwell’s congressional seat include attorney Qadir Abrar, political organizer Matt Ortega, Wendy Huang and Melissa Hernandez, according to federal election records.
Swalwell entered the race to succeed termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom during a November appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” He joins a contender pool that includes former Orange County Congresswoman Katie Porter, former state Controller Betty Yee, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Assemblymember Ian Calderon, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire Tom Steyer.
Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.
This story originally appeared in San Jose Spotlight.