Aisha Wahab
Aisha Wahab | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of the California State Senate from the 10th district | |
| Assumed office December 5, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Wieckowski |
| Member of the Hayward City Council | |
| In office December 11, 2018 – December 5, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Marvin Peixoto |
| Succeeded by | George Syrop |
| Constituency | At-large |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 11, 1987 Queens, New York City, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | San Jose State University (BA) California State University, East Bay (MBA) University of Southern California (DSW) |
Aisha Wahab (born January 11, 1987) is an American politician who has served as the California state senator from the 10th district since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Wahab is the first Muslim and Afghan American elected to the California State Senate. She previously served on the Hayward City Council from 2018 to 2022.
Born to Afghan refugees in New York City, Wahab was raised in Fremont and has a doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California. She worked in non-profit organizations and consulting before entering politics. Upon being elected to the Hayward City Council in 2018, she became one of the first Afghan Americans elected to public office in the United States. She was elected to the California State Senate in 2022.
Since 2024, Wahab has served as Assistant Majority leader; she is currently chair of the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee. She has announced her candidacy for Congress in California's 14th congressional district in 2026.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Wahab was born in Queens, New York City, to refugees who fled Afghanistan amid the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s. Soon after her birth, her father was murdered and her mother died suddenly thereafter, leaving Wahab and her sister in foster care. Wahab and her sister were adopted by an Afghan couple in Fremont, California, where she was raised.[3] She graduated from John F. Kennedy High School and Ohlone College before earning a bachelor of arts in political science from San Jose State University in 2010.[4]
During and after college, Wahab was an account manager and business development director for various startup companies in the Bay Area. In 2011, economic impacts of the Great Recession caused Wahab to be laid off from her job and her parents to lose their business. When Wahab's parents' home was foreclosed on, the family was priced out of Fremont and forced to move to Hayward, California, where they became renters.[5]
Wahab earned a master of business administration from California State University, East Bay in 2013. She was involved in student government during graduate school and became an IT consultant after graduation.[6][7]
In 2024, Wahab completed a doctorate in social work through the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California.[8]
Early political career
[edit]Hayward City Council
[edit]
Wahab ran for Hayward City Council in 2018. She was the top vote-getter in a field of seven candidates vying for an at-large city council seat, beating out two incumbents.[9] Along with New Hampshire State Representative Safiya Wazir, Wahab was the first Afghan-American elected to public office in the United States.[3]
In 2019, California state assemblymember Bill Quirk recognized Wahab as Woman of the Year from Assembly District 20.[10] Wahab served one term as Mayor Pro Tempore and led Hayward's efforts to expand alternative emergency responses to mental-health crises, including increased reliance on fire and medical personnel rather than traditional police response.
Wahab served one term on the city council from 2018 to 2022. She did not run for re-election in 2022, instead successfully running for California State Senate.
2020 congressional campaign
[edit]After incumbent U.S. representative Eric Swalwell announced he would run in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Wahab announced she would run to replace him in California's 15th congressional district.[11] Her support for progressive policies such as Medicare for All and identity as a millennial women of color led to comparisons to freshman representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[12] Swalwell ultimately ended his presidential campaign and ran for re-election to Congress, leading Wahab to suspend her campaign three weeks later.[13]
California State Senate
[edit]
2022 election
[edit]Wahab announced she would run for the California State Senate in the 10th district, which spans from Hayward to Sunnyvale. Incumbent state senator Bob Wieckowski was term-limited and endorsed Wahab to succeed him.[14] During the campaign, she noted that she would focus on California's housing crisis and stagnating wages. California state assemblymember Alex Lee, whose district overlaps with Wahab's, and former Federal Election Commission chair Ann Ravel backed her campaign.[15] She advanced to the top-two primary on June 7, 2022, and won the general election on November 8, 2022. She defeated Fremont mayor Lily Mei, a more establishment-oriented Democrat, in the general election.[16] Her victory made her the first Muslim and Afghan American elected to the California State Senate.[16]
Tenure
[edit]Wahab was sworn in as a state senator on December 5, 2022. She is the first Muslim and Afghan American to serve in the California State Senate. Since taking office, Wahab has maintained a broad, bipartisan legislative portfolio spanning housing, public safety, health and human services, infrastructure, workforce development, and labor protections. During the 2023–2025 legislative sessions, she authored, principal-coauthored, or coauthored legislation across these policy areas, with dozens of measures enacted into law and others advancing through committee and appropriations processes.
Her housing-related legislative work has included more than twenty bills addressing tenant protections, rental practices, and housing affordability, alongside committee-level leadership on broader housing policy and infrastructure considerations. In the area of child welfare and human services, she has authored and supported numerous measures focused on foster youth, post-adoption protections, and service delivery standards.
Wahab’s health-related legislation has included measures expanding access to essential services and addressing equity in public health settings, while her public safety work has addressed firearm safety, traffic enforcement practices, and criminal justice procedures. Additional legislative activity has focused on workforce development, economic security, infrastructure planning, and labor and workplace protections.
Enacted legislation authored by Wahab includes measures addressing tenant security deposits, menstrual equity in schools and public facilities, expanded educational support for foster and homeless youth, post-adoption contact protections, and reforms affecting criminal records and survivor access to justice.
Housing and tenant protections
[edit]Wahab has authored and supported legislation addressing tenant stability, rent-related protections, and housing affordability, including SB 681/AB130 (Stop HOA/Mortgage Abuse Act). SB262 (Renter Protection Incentive Act) and SB 625 (Rebuild Faster after Disaster Act). Her housing-related measures have included proposals affecting security deposits, eviction protections, and the regulation of rental practices, as well as broader policy discussions regarding the relationship between housing supply, affordability, and infrastructure capacity. As chair of the Senate Housing Committee beginning in 2025, she has played a central role in shaping committee deliberations on housing production, affordability requirements, transportation access, and local planning considerations.
Public safety and justice policy
[edit]Wahab’s legislative work in public safety has included bills related to firearm safety, traffic enforcement practices, and protections for vulnerable populations, including SB 982 that cracked down on retail theft. Her proposals in this area have addressed both preventative measures and accountability standards, including reforms affecting law enforcement practices and community safety frameworks.
Health care and human services
[edit]A substantial portion of Wahab’s legislative activity has focused on health and human services, including child welfare, foster youth supports, and access to essential services. She has authored and supported measures addressing post-adoption protections, extended foster care, and service delivery standards, alongside broader health-related legislation affecting access, equity, and program administration. Wahab’s SB 40 capped insulin costs at $35 monthly, while SB 1354 required more transparency in long-term care.
Infrastructure, workforce, and economic development
[edit]Wahab has advanced legislation related to infrastructure planning, workforce development, and economic security, including measures affecting labor standards, workforce protections, and public investments. Her legislative work in this area has intersected with housing and transportation policy, emphasizing the relationship between infrastructure capacity, employment access, and regional economic stability.
Workers’ rights and labor protections
[edit]In the area of labor and workplace standards, Wahab has authored and coauthored bills addressing employee protections, working conditions, and labor rights. These measures have included proposals aimed at strengthening workplace safeguards, clarifying employer obligations, and expanding protections for workers in both public and private sectors.
Legislative outcomes
[edit]Across the 2023–2025 legislative sessions, Wahab served as an author, principal coauthor, or coauthor on hundreds of bills, with numerous measures enacted into law and others advancing through committee, appropriations, or inter-house negotiations. Her legislative record reflects sustained activity across multiple committees and policy domains, combining policy development with oversight responsibilities within the California State Senate.
2026 congressional campaign
[edit]On January 24, 2026, Wahab announced that she would run in the 2026 U.S. House of Representatives election in California's 14th congressional district, which opened after incumbent Eric Swalwell announced his candidacy in the 2026 California gubernatorial election.[2]
Electoral history
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Aisha Wahab | 15,949 | 27.22 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sara Lamnin (incumbent) | 15,172 | 25.89 | |
| Nonpartisan | Marvin Peixoto (incumbent) | 10,197 | 17.40 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tom Ferreira | 5,638 | 9.62 | |
| Nonpartisan | Joe Orlando Ramos | 4,908 | 8.38 | |
| Nonpartisan | Didacus Ramos | 3,991 | 6.81 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mekia Michelle Fields | 2,372 | 4.05 | |
| Write-in | 369 | 0.63 | ||
| Total votes | 58,596 | 100.00 | ||
| Primary election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
| Democratic | Lily Mei | 47,149 | 33.1 | ||
| Democratic | Aisha Wahab | 42,731 | 30.0 | ||
| Republican | Paul J. Pimentel | 30,742 | 21.6 | ||
| Democratic | Jamal Khan | 10,424 | 7.3 | ||
| Democratic | Raymond Liu | 6,932 | 4.9 | ||
| Democratic | Jim Canova | 4,391 | 3.1 | ||
| Total votes | 142,369 | 100.0 | |||
| General election | |||||
| Democratic | Aisha Wahab | 114,997 | 53.7 | ||
| Democratic | Lily Mei | 99,011 | 46.3 | ||
| Total votes | 214,008 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
References
[edit]- ^ Pho, Brandon (2026-01-07). "Silicon Valley lawmaker could seek East Bay congressional seat". San José Spotlight. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ a b Martin, Kyle (2026-01-24). "Bay Area state senator adds her name to the growing list of candidates hoping to replace Eric Swalwell". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
- ^ a b Tavares, Steven (February 6, 2019). "Aisha Wahab Made History". East Bay Express. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "Aisha Wahab". Run For Something. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ Copeland, Carolyn (2020-03-12). "Foster care, a city council seat, and a run for Congress: Aisha Wahab's journey". Prism. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ Wahab, Aisha (2026-01-22). "Aisha Wahab". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
- ^ "California State Sen. Aisha Wahab - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ "Class of 2024: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work by USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work". Issuu. 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
- ^ Fost, Dan (March 21, 2019). "One of the First". East Bay Today. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "Assemblymember Quirk recognized Honorable Aisha Wahab as his 2019 Woman of the Year". March 6, 2019. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Nielson, Katie (April 13, 2019). "Hayward City Councilwoman Aisha Wahab Running For Eric Swalwell's House Seat". KPIX-TV. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Tolan, Casey (April 12, 2019). "Hayward council member Aisha Wahab runs for Eric Swalwell's open congressional seat in what could be crowded race". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Peele, Thomas (July 29, 2019). "Hayward council member suspends challenge against Rep. Swalwell". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- ^ Herrera, Sonya (June 18, 2021). "Aisha Wahab looks to break barriers in Sacramento". San José Spotlight. Archived from the original on July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ a b "Hayward city council member Aisha Wahab becomes 1st Muslim, Afghan American elected to CA senate". ABC7 San Francisco. 2022-11-22. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
- ^ "General Election - 11/06/2018". Alameda County Registrar of Voters. December 6, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
- ^ "June 7, 2022, Primary Election - State Senator" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
- ^ "November 8, 2022, General Election - State Senator" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
External links
[edit]
- Democratic Party California state senators
- Women state legislators in California
- Women city councillors in California
- Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections
- 21st-century American women politicians
- American people of Afghan descent
- People from Hayward, California
- San Jose State University alumni
- California State University, East Bay alumni
- 1980s births
- Living people
- 21st-century members of the California State Legislature