CA District 14: Wahab vs. Hernandez

Another congressional race of note here in the Bay Area is the race for District 14. That was once held by disgraced Congressman Eric Swalwell, who, by the way, resigned back in April. KTVU's Jana Katsugama has been covering this race and joins us now live from Pleasanton. Jana. Heather and Mike, we have been going throughout the district and right now we're in Pleasanton where Melissa Hernandez, one of the candidates, is expected to be here shortly and then later on we will be going over to Ayesha Wahab's watch party. But take a look at this video. Melissa Hernandez shared a photo of her voting earlier today. She dropped off her ballot at the Dublin Civic Center where she once served as the mayor of Dublin. Congresswoman Ayesha Wahab also voted today. She shared a photo with us of her at the voting center in Fremont. Wahab won the special election back in August and is serving in Congress through the end of this term. This has really become a very dramatic race, and the city of Dublin could really be the key here to determining who takes this seat. That's because of redistricting. The Congressional District 14 area has really shifted since that special election, and now it includes more voters in the city of Dublin. Dublin, where Hernandez has strong support from her being a past mayor. We saw lines at the Dublin Civic Centre with more than 60 people who were lined up when I was counting. Some said that they waited more than one hour to cast their vote today. And there were others who said that it was a very difficult decision. I feel pretty confident about it. I think that both the ladies are putting up a pretty good fight. I know that we've got Melissa representing Dublin and I know we've got Aisha coming through. I think that the polls are going to come and I think that they'll show where Dublin's actually standing for District 14. I know that it's important to vote. I know that it's important to stand in this long line. It was worth my while and if I didn't I would regret that I didn't waste it or spend the time to show up and do it. In August, during that special election, Wahab had 53% to Hernandez's near 47%. But again, doubling could be an X factor here. Now, the one other uncertain factor is at their last debate, Hernandez made a comment that seemed to tie Wahab to the Taliban. Wahab is Afghan-American. Later, Hernandez kind of walked that back and said that she was talking more about policies, not any direct connection. And Wahab, on the other hand, On the other hand, vehemently condemned Hernandez's statements, saying that it was inappropriate. And so this is one of the things that has really made this a much more dramatic race tonight. And we will see Hernandez just arrived here at her party. So we will be talking to her a little bit later as some of those results come in. But certainly, you know, a lot of energy here in District 14, Mike and Heather. Yeah, it has been a contentious race. Really appreciate it. Jana Katsugama. Thank you. Thank you.