Voters may go to polls 4 times to fill Swalwell's empty House seat

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a special election to fill the congressional seat left behind by Eric Swalwell, who resigned this week from the US House of Representatives amid sexual abuse allegations.

East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell represented California's 14th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. That covered parts of Alameda County, including Castro Valley, Dublin and Livermore.

Even before he resigned amid sex assault allegations, Swalwell gave up his opportunity to run for re-election during the 2026 midterms when he opted to run a campaign for California's next governor. That's because, per California law, a candidate can't run for two offices at once.

As a result, Newsom called for a special election on June 16 to fill the vacant seat as soon as possible, most likely to avoid losing a Democrat seat in the House and giving Republicans an edge. Republicans already hold a slight majority in the House, 218 members compared to 213 Democrats.

While the temporarily elected House member would only serve for about four months, they could be part of key votes during the lame-duck period of Congress, the period after the midterm elections and before the new Congress is sworn in January.

"In this high-stakes margin in a very close House vote, one way or another, every seat matters, hence the pressure to call a special election," said Sonoma State University professor David McCuan. 

That means voters in the East Bay could vote for the same seat up to four times in the next five months.

According to the California Secretary of State's office, nine candidates signed up to run for the 14th District seat.

Who is running for 14th District Seat in the midterm elections Nov. 3?

These are the candidates, and their party affiliations, confirmed to be running for Congress:

Democratic Party

• Victor Aguilar, Jr.
• Carin Elam
• Melissa Hernandez
• Matt Ortega
• Rakhi Israni Singh
• Aisha Wahab

Republican Party

• Wendy Huang
• Dena Maldonado

No Party Preference

• Suzanne Chenault

Election timeline for the 14th District 

The nine candidates will be on the ballot during the midterm primary on June 2.  That ballot will also include other congressional races and a primary for the governor's race. The top two candidates of this election then face off in the general election Nov. 3. 

But Newsom's special election adds more dates.

A special primary is set for June 16, two weeks after the midterm primary.

The special primary will give another set of candidates the opportunity to fill the vacant District 14 seat until January 2027.

If no candidate wins the majority vote during the special primary, then the two candidates with the most votes will appear in a special runoff election on Aug. 18.

The winner will temporarily be the House representative and replaced by the winner of the November general election.

What's at stake? 

Sonoma State University professor David McCuan says the general election candidates will now have to weigh whether it's worth it to jump into the special election.

He explains why a candidate would want to enter the special race and how some could perceive it as an advantage.

"You may not want to advantage someone else who seems to be the incumbent even though they're only serving just temporarily to fill out Eric Swalwell's term," he said. "It's a bit of giving the person the advantage of being perceived as having the incumbency-like quality."

Additionally, McCuan says candidates focus on the acronym known as M.O.R.E. in politics. That stands for mindset; money, organization, resources and endorsements.

He says candidates may consider sparing their money and resources if they're confident they could win the general election.

Who's entering the special election and who is not? 

KTVU reached out to each of the nine candidates running to replace Swalwell in the general election, asking if they plan to enter the special election race. This story will be updated as candidates respond.

Yes

On Wednesday, business owner and florist Dena Maldonado was the first candidate to confirm to KTVU she is entering the special election race, telling KTVU "if you're not first, you're last." 

"I am running to defend constitutional freedoms, protect parents rights, and restore transparency in our community." she said. "I will show up for you. Please show up for me to vote. I appreciate your time as always. It is the most valuable thing we have."

No

Local businessman Matt Ortega said he will not enter the special election.

"The broken system that allowed this man to reach the heights he did is the same broken system that allowed housing, health care, and child care to be out of reach for working families," he said. "I'm running on the boldest agenda for long-term change of anyone on the ballot and not interested in a four-month vanity term."

Undecided

A representative for nonprofit director Carin Elam released the following statement: "As we await more details on the special election, Carin and her family are discussing next steps and will make a decision soon."

Wendy Huang simply told KTVU she is still deciding. "I’m looking into it, and I’ll get back to you," she said.