Key facts
- A special congressional primary is being held for California's 14th District.
- The election is to fill the remaining 15 weeks of former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell's term.
- Swalwell resigned in April following sexual assault allegations he denies.
- The top two finishers, regardless of party, will advance to a special general election on August 18.
- The district is heavily Democratic, and a Democratic hold would tighten the Republican majority in the U.S. House.
Bay Area voters are heading to the polls Tuesday for a special congressional primary to narrow down the field of candidates vying to replace former U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell.
Swalwell resigned from Congress in April amid sexual assault allegations, which he denies. He also withdrew from the California governor's race. The special primary is to fill the remaining 15 weeks of his term, while a separate, regularly scheduled election will determine who serves the next full term starting in January 2027.
Among the Democratic candidates for the abbreviated term are former Dublin mayor Melissa Hernandez, state Sen. Aisha Wahab, and attorney Rakhi Israni Singh. Republican candidates include real estate investor Wendy Huang and small business owner Dena Maldonado. The top two finishers, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to a special general election on August 18, under California's top-two primary system.
Both the special election and the regular election for the 14th District are being conducted under current boundaries, though a new congressional map approved by voters in a 2025 ballot measure, Proposition 50, will go into effect for the full-term seat. The district is heavily Democratic, with Democrats making up over 50% of registered voters under both current and new boundaries. Vice President Kamala Harris carried the district with over 65% of the vote in 2024.
Polls close at 8 p.m. PT (11 p.m. ET). The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners. Registered voters within the pre-redistricting boundaries of the 14th District can participate. As of October 2025, there were approximately 429,000 registered voters in the district. Early and mail-in voting have been significant, with about 93% of Alameda County voters using these methods in the March 2024 primary. As of Friday, over 106,000 ballots had already been cast.