Democrats are so worried about losing tight votes in the House over the coming months that the candidates running in the special election for Eric Swalwell’s House seat are rallying behind a caretaker candidate, retired state Sen. Bob Wieckowski.
But it’s unclear whether the plan can move forward, because one major candidate is not yet on board.
The race to replace Swalwell beginning next year was already underway because the East Bay Democrat had elected to run for governor of California, and politicians can only appear on the ballot in one race at a time. But Swalwell dropped out of the governor’s race and resigned from the House last week after a Chronicle report in which a former staffer alleged he had sexually assaulted her, triggering a special election to replace him for the rest of his current term.
That special election is set for June 16. The deadline to file to run in the special election is on Thursday.
The reason for the urgency: If any candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the June 16 election, they will be immediately seated in Congress. If not, the seat will remain vacant until a runoff election between the top two candidates on Aug. 18.
That means whoever replaces Swalwell for the rest of his current term could miss key votes on issues like the war in Iran or attempts by President Donald Trump to federalize the midterm elections. A resolution ordering Trump to end the war with Iran this month failed by one vote.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, the chair of the California Democratic delegation, told the Chronicle in a statement Monday that “it’s absolutely crucial that we get one more Democrat ASAP to vote against that agenda. Bob Wieckowski is an experienced leader, and I know that he can work well with our delegation over the next few months to fight Trump’s chaos in Washington. I commend all the candidates for putting the needs of the country ahead of their own political ambitions at this critical time.”
Four candidates — urged on by party leaders in Washington, including Lofgren — signed a statement this week uniting behind a caretaker candidate in order to keep alive Democrats’ chances of thwarting Trump’s agenda. That person — Wieckowski — would not run for the full term. The candidates whose names appear on the statement obtained by the Chronicle are Victor Aguilar Jr., Carin Elam, Melissa Hernandez, Rakhi Israni and Matt Ortega.
But one of the most prominent candidates in the race, state Sen. Aisha Wahab, D-Hayward, has not signed the statement, telling the Chronicle Monday that she has not seen it. Wahab, who already represents more than half of Swalwell’s district, would have a name recognition advantage. She is running for the full term in the June 2 primary, and has been endorsed by the California Democratic Party and the California Labor Federation in the union-heavy district.
Democrats are concerned about potential confusion as voters in the 14th Congressional District, which includes the cities of Livermore and Hayward, face several upcoming elections for their House member. For the full term beginning Jan. 3, 2027, the primary election will be on June 2, followed by the general election on Nov. 3. There are nine candidates on the primary ballot. The top two finishers, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election.
“We ask all Democratic voters to cast their ballots for Senator Wieckowski so he can help Democrats in the House try to block the Republican agenda immediately,” the statement said. “This will only work if all Democrats considering running for this special election agree to sign this pledge. All candidates will reserve the option to file for this special election if any of the other candidates breaks their pledge.”