Aisha Wahab

Aisha Wahab (born 1987/1988) is an American politician who has been a member of the California State Senate from the 10th district since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first Muslim elected to the California State Senate. Wahab served on the Hayward City Council from 2018 to 2022 and was one of the first Afghan-Americans elected to public office, alongside New Hampshire state representative Safiya Wazir.

Early life and education
Wahab was born in Queens, New York City, to refugees who fled Afghanistan in the 1980s. Her father was murdered and her mother died soon after, leaving Wahab and her sister in foster care. They were adopted by an Afghan couple in Fremont, California, and moved to Hayward after the 2008 Financial Crisis

Wahab earned a Bachelor's degree in political science at San Jose State University and a Masters in Business Administration from Cal State East Bay. She went on to work in non-profit organizations and is currently an IT consultant.

Hayward City Council
Wahab was the top vote-getter in a field of seven candidates vying for an at-large city council seat, beating out two incumbents. Along with New Hampshire State Representative Safiya Wazir, Wahab was the first Afghan-American elected to public office.

Tenure
California State Assembly member Bill Quirk recognized Wahab as Woman of the Year from District 20 in 2019.

2020 Congressional campaign
After incumbent U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell announced he would run in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Wahab announced she would run for California's 15th congressional district in 2020. Her support for progressive policies such as Medicare for All and identity as a millennial women of color led to comparisons to freshman representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Swalwell decided to run for re-election after ending his presidential campaign, leading Wahab to suspend her campaign 3 weeks later.

2022 California State Senate campaign
Wahab announced she would run for California's 10th State Senate district, incumbent state senator Bob Wieckowski was term-limited. She noted the housing crisis and stagnating wages as issues she would focus on. California State Assembly member Alex Lee and former chair of the Federal Election Commission Ann Ravel backed her campaign. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022, defeating Fremont Mayor Lily Mei, a more establishment oriented Democrat.

Legislative career
In March 2023, as a first-term state senator, Wahab introduced Senate Bill 403, a bill with a broad objective to prohibit caste discrimination. The SB 403 bill, which involved adding caste into the definition of ancestry under multiple discrimination laws, was passed by the California State Senate in May 2023 after a divisive debate. The bill was considered controversial by many in the South Asian community; and Wahab was subject to a recall effort. While the proponents of the bill claimed that an explicit ban on caste discrimination was needed to increase awareness on such bias, the opponents including several Indian-American organizations insisted that this proposal unfairly targeted the Hindu residents because the caste system was most commonly associated with their religious group. In October 2023, the bill was eventually vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom, who argued that "caste discrimination is already prohibited under existing civil rights protections".

In May 2023, Wahab was acknowledged for her role as a member of the "Renters Caucus" in the passing of the “Homelessness Prevention” bill, which was included by state Sen. María Elena Durazo to bolster the California Tenant Protection Act, as the passage of bill involved several rounds of tough negotiations. On February 8, 2024 she was appointed Assistant Majority Leader of the State Senate along with Senator Angelique Ashby by the new Pro Temp Mike McGuire.