Afghan-American Ayesha Defeats Pro-Israel Melissa in US Congress

Ayesha Wahab has won a special runoff election to fill the vacated seat in California's 14th Congressional District after former U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell resigned over sexual harassment allegations. According to the results announced Thursday night, she has earned the distinction of becoming the first Afghan-American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (Congress).

With 100 percent of the ballots counted, the Democratic candidate received 53.1 percent of the total vote. On the other hand, her rival, Melissa Hernandez of the Democratic Party, received 46.9 percent of the vote.

It is worth noting that Ayesha Wahab was previously the first Muslim and the first Afghan-American member of the California State Senate elected. She ran on a progressive Democratic platform, where her support for Palestine was evident.

On the other hand, her rival Melissa Hernandez campaigned on a pro-Israel stance. She received a large amount of financial support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

According to a Politico report, Hernandez received about $3.7 million of the $4 million (4 million) spent on both candidates since July. About $3 million came from AIPAC alone.

In an interview, Ayesha Wahab said about her victory, “Despite millions of dollars in outside money, false information and false statements, the ordinary people of my constituency recognized the truth and voted for me. For that, I am very proud of the people of my district.”

However, despite the defeat, Melissa Hernandez expressed hope of winning the next November election. She said that about 26,000 new voters are being added according to the redrawn map of the 14th District. He hopes to regain the support of voters in Dublin City, where he was previously mayor, and to close the gap.

Ayesha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez will face off again in the upcoming general election midterms on November 3.

Anadolu Agency reports.