United States Representative, District 14

Aisha Wahab is a Democrat and a sitting California state senator running for this open seat. They grew up in foster care in Fremont after they lost both parents as a child. They were later adopted. They became the first Afghan American elected to the California Legislature. In the state senate they lead a committee on business and economic growth and are an assistant leader for their party. They have written state bills on civil rights and utility accountability.

Wahab says the political system is afraid of them because they work for regular people, not big corporations. Before the legislature, they served on the Hayward city council. Their campaign says they helped cut homelessness there by 22% over three years and built more affordable housing. In the state senate they have pushed for stronger civil rights laws. They have also pressed utility and insurance companies for more accountability.

Wahab promises to expand affordable housing and help more people own homes. They also promise to protect funding for food aid, health care and public schools. They want to support small businesses and job training. They promise to keep working with police on safety and to push for stronger environmental rules. They say voters can expect results, not just talk.

Melissa Hernandez is a Democrat and the daughter of migrant farmworkers. She became the first Latina mayor of Dublin. She now works as a healthcare services director. As mayor, she says she kept the city's budget balanced without raising taxes. She also says Dublin was named one of the best places to live while the city built housing at several price levels.

She says she wants to bring practical, results-driven leadership to Congress, the way she ran Dublin. She has not served in the California Legislature or Congress. Her only elected record is as Dublin's mayor. As mayor, she says she worked with local police and neighbors on residents' safety concerns.

She promises to lower the cost of housing, health care and child care. She also promises to protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts. She wants to invest in mental health crisis response to make neighborhoods safer. She also wants to lower prescription drug costs. She supports a path to citizenship for immigrants brought to the country as children.