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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 afterdisturbing allegations of rape and sexual assaultderailed his candidacy for California governor.
Despite the 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.Some have even labeled Wahab as the “West Coast AOC,”according to the East Bay Express.
Swalwell lookedpoised to win the California governor’s raceas recently as early April, as the thirsty cable-news combatant parlayed his frequent criticism of President Trump into a campaign platform thatcourted support from Hollywood A-listersand political operatives in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s orbit.
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The bottom fell out on April 10 afterallegations of rape, sexual assault and deviant behaviorfrom 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 Justiceall opened criminal probes. Eventually the pressure swelled to a degree that staffers refused to work for Swalwell, leading him no choice but toresign from Congress.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
