Voters in Alameda County were back at the polls Tuesday — just two weeks after the primary election — to decide who will replace disgraced ex-congressman Eric Swalwell, whose career imploded after disturbing allegations of rape and sexual assault derailed his candidacy for California governor.
Despite months of controversy surrounding Swalwell, voters in the deep-blue East Bay aren’t breaking their habit.
With 80% of ballots counted as of 8:32 p.m., Democrat Aisha Wahab led the field with 42.6% of the vote, short of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff under California’s top-two system. Trailing the frontrunner, Melissa Hernandez held second place with 16.8% of the vote (17,619 votes), followed by Rakhi Israni Singh in third at 13.3% (13,946 votes). Both are Democrats.
Wahab is considered a staunchly progressive, left-leaning liberal.
Her voting record and platform frequently draw comparisons to left-wing national figures like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Swalwell looked poised to win the California governor’s race as recently as early April, as the thirsty cable-news combatant parlayed his frequent criticism of President Trump into a campaign platform that courted support from Hollywood A-listers and political operatives in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s orbit.
The bottom fell out on April 10 after allegations of rape, sexual assault and deviant behavior from a series of women surfaced in reports by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN.
Democratic leaders pressured Swalwell to bow out of the governor’s race, his deep-pocketed donors distanced themselves, and prosecutors on both coasts and the Department of Justice all opened criminal probes. Eventually the pressure swelled to a degree that staffers refused to work for Swalwell, leading him no choice but to resign from Congress.
Swalwell has denied the allegations, saying he made mistakes outside of his marriage, but the damage was irreparable.
He’s now facing an investigation by the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission, with investigators targeting the more than $300,000 he has spent on Sara Azari, an anti-MeToo celebrity lawyer who’s defending him against the rape and sexual assault allegations
