Democrats are rallying behind a caretaker in the special election to replace Eric Swalwell

By Joe Garofoli, Political Columnist | San Francisco Chronicle, April 20, 2026

Democrats are so worried about losing tight votes in the House over the coming months that the candidates running in the special election for Eric Swalwell’s House seat are rallying behind a caretaker candidate, retired state Sen. Bob Wieckowski.

SNIP

The reason for the urgency: If any candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the June 16 election, they will be immediately seated in Congress. If not, the seat will remain vacant until a runoff election between the top two candidates on August 18.

That means whoever replaces Swalwell for the rest of his current term could miss key votes on issues like the war in Iran or attempts by President Donald Trump to federalize the midterm elections. A resolution ordering Trump to end the war with Iran this month failed by one vote.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, the chair of the California Democratic delegation, told the Chronicle in a statement Monday that “it’s absolutely crucial that we get one more Democrat ASAP to vote against that agenda. Bob Wieckowski is an experienced leader, and I know that he can work well with our delegation over the next few months to fight Trump’s chaos in Washington. I commend all the candidates for putting the needs of the country ahead of their own political ambitions at this critical time.”

Link (paywall): https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/swalwell-special-election-caretaker-22216373.php

Ideally, the five candidates for the seat would have to tell their supporters that the best way to fight Trump's agenda would be to vote for Wieckowski to ensure Swalwell's seat is filled right away, albeit temporarily.

Four have pledged their support. But one of the candidates, state Senator. Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward), well-known in the district, has so far been noncommittal. Maybe Wahab thinks she can win 50% of that vote.

There always seem to be one troublemaker.