Have you seen the TV and digital ads attacking California State Senator Aisha Wahab? The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is spending more than $5 million dollars to defeat State Senator Wahab in the 14th Congressional District race.
This used to be Eric Swalwell’s seat in Congress. He had a lock on it and lost it all when he was exposed for who he really is.
Because Swalwell was exposed as a sexual predator, there are 2 elections to fill his seat:
one on August 18th to finish his term through December, and
a second election in November to send a representative to Congress for a regular 2-year term.
Thank God Swalwell he didn’t become our Governor. In 2024, the People’s Tribunal Against Eric Swalwell, a coalition of over 100 citizens unanimously found Swalwell “guilty of complicity in the Palestinian genocide” and a failure to represent his constituency. The evidence presented at the tribunal showed that Swalwell has accepted thousands of dollars from pro-Israel groups, defunded humanitarian aid to Gaza, supported resolutions and legislation to protect Israel and ignored constituent concerns.
Clearly, AIPAC was going to be happy with Eric Swalwell as California’s next Governor. In February 2026, at the Jewish California Governor’s forum, Swalwell pledged to increase collaboration between Israel and California. Both of California’s Senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla are also strong advocates for military funding for Israel. Not surprisingly, they both have received significant funding from AIPAC in their elections.
The main theme of AIPAC’s multi-million-dollar campaign against Senator Wahab is that she is “soft on crime.”
Why the soft on crime attacks? Because fear mongering works! Most of the time in politics, fear mongering works. And it does not have to be fact-based. It’s a cynical and gross manipulation of people’s emotions. Add a few grieving victims and some outraged business owners and you have a winning formula.
The problem for AIPAC is Senator Wahab is not a criminal justice reform advocate. In this season no Democratic politician is advocating for criminal justice reform. That issue is DOA - dead on arrival- for the Democrats and their donors. So, what is normally a winning formula sounds weak and contrived in this election.
Senator Wahab is actually endorsed by the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA), and the California Police Chiefs Association, two of the most reactionary police organizations in California. Both CCPOA and the police chiefs have been strong opponents of efforts to reform California’s outdated penal code, and our expensive and corrosive criminal-legal institutions. Wahab is also endorsed by the local Alameda County Sheriff, Yesenia Sanchez.
Nonetheless, powerful local police unions support her opponent, Melissa Hernandez. The Fremont Police Officers Association, Livermore Police Officers Association and the Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs PAC are backing Hernandez with their endorsements and campaign contributions. Their influence in this race is limited, however, because crime is not well publicized in the communities in the 14th Congressional District.
It is unlike crime reporting on Oakland where every purse snatching, car theft, robbery, neighbor dispute and business closing is amplified at the same level as every homicide and home invasion on NextDoor and in the right-wing San Francisco based media outlets.
Crime in Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton rarely makes the nightly news. In fact, most Bay Area media outlets consider those cities “safe” in comparison to Oakland. Consequently, crime is not “a hot button” issue for most voters in the 14th Congressional District unless it involves bashing Oakland.
SIDENOTE: In the recall 2024 election, it was clear that disgraced Congressman Eric Swalwell’s support for the recall was a well-timed publicity stunt driven by his own personal animus and political ambitions vs. any actual fact-based assessment of the District Attorney’s impact on crime in his Congressional District or Alameda County.
The real issue that drives AIPAC’s interest in this Congressional race is support for military aid to Israel and Israel’s expansionist policies in the Middle East. Congress recently passed the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative which provides billions of dollars for military assistance to Israel and expands coordination between the U.S. military and the Israeli military in every area of defense technology, including AI, quantum, autonomous systems, directed energy, cyber, biotech, and many more.
Senator Wahab is an advocate for peace and justice in the Middle East. In 2025, she spearheaded the California State Senate resolution on Human Rights in Gaza, with the support of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. While she has not been endorsed by TrackAIPAC , she is now well-known as one of AIPAC’s major targets.
AIPAC spending on congressional campaigns has become “a thing” in American politics. In 2024, AIPAC spent almost $15 million to unseat New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman, a staunch critic of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and replace him with a staunch supporter of Israeli policies. At that time, it was the largest amount a single group had ever spent on a race for the House of Representatives.
Then, in 2026, AIPAC spent $30 million in Michigan against Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in a US Senate race. He won his primary election. If elected in November, he will be the first Muslim U.S. Senator. If State Senator Wahab is elected to Congress on August 18th, she would become only the fifth member of Congress who identifies as Muslim.
AIPAC spent $3 million in Missouri to support Congressman Wesley Bell in his 2026 campaign to defeat Cori Bush and he won. This was the rematch from 2024 when AIPAC spent $9 million to take out then-Congresswoman Cori Bush and elect Bell.
AIPAC definitely does not want peace in the Middle East, and they don’t want another advocate for peace in the United States Congress. AIPAC spending can make the difference as money always does in politics. We’ll see how far $5 million to push a false narrative goes in Alameda County.
NOTES:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/06/aipac-super-pacs-spend-millions-california
https://pamelapriceunfiltered.substack.com/p/eric-swalwell-needs-to-resign-now
https://eastbay4ceasefire.org/tribunal/
https://www.aishawahab.com/attackads
https://jewishcaucus.legislature.ca.gov/
https://www.trackaipac.com/contact
https://www.trackaipac.com/states/california?rq=adam%20schiff
https://www.anewpolicy.org/the-legislative-tracker/section-224-ndaa
https://factually.co/fact-checks/military/section-224-219-2027-ndaa-changes-us-israel-defense-cooperation-26684f
https://www.cjcj.org/media/import/documents/ccpoa_information_sheet.pdf
https://www.govgreed.com/aipac-targets
https://truthout.org/articles/jamaal-bowman-loses-primary-after-aipac-poured-record-14-5m-into-race/
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/aipac-michigan-senate-primary-stevens-abdul-el-sayed/
https://reference.org/facts/List_of_Muslim_members_of_the_United_States_Congress/mmkQ203u
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