Leading American Muslim groups have celebrated the historic win of Muslim candidates in November 8 elections as news of success and big wins scored by several Muslim candidates continue to pour in.
“Tonight’s historic string of record-breaking American Muslim electoral victories is a testament to our community’s ongoing rise in American politics and the trust our neighbors have placed in us to represent them and fight for their interests, Nihad Awad, National Executive Directorof the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in statement sent to AboutIsam.
“We are witnessing the next step in the American Muslim community’s political transformation from marginalized voices that were sidelined, or worse, to decision makers. These newly-elected officials are building upon the success of our community’s decades-long investment in civic engagement, voter registration and running for office,” Awad added.
“We call on all American Muslim elected leaders to draw inspiration from their Islamic faith and work for the best possible future of all Americans.”
Jetpac Resource Center and CAIR are currently tracking the results of a record breaking 145 American Muslim candidates running for local, state and federal office in the general election, including 48 state legislative candidates running in 23 states.
Currently, 29 American Muslims state legislators serve in 18 states. Prior to tonight, New York and Minnesota led the pack with 3 each. Only 5 of the 29 American Muslims elected officials in state legislatures were elected prior to January of 2017.
“I’m inspired by the historic wins we are seeing in local and state elections across the country. It shows that the Muslim community is building solid infrastructure for sustained electoral success,” Jetpac Resource Center Executive Director Mohammed Missouri said.
“Policy decisions on education, housing, climate, and civil rights are shaped by state legislatures and it is critical that our voice is represented in the policymaking process.”
Who Are the Winners?
Iman Jodeh
Colorado: Incumbent, first-term State Representative Iman Jodeh (D), the first Muslim elected to the Colorado State Legislature, won reelection to represent State House District 41.
Connecticut: Incumbent, first-term State Senator Saud Anwar (D), the first Muslim elected to the Connecticut State Legislature, also won the race against Matt Harper. State Representative Maryam Khan (D), who was elected in March 2022 in a special election, cruised to victory by nearly tripling the vote total of Republican Charles Windsor Jackson III.
Delaware: Incumbent, first-term State Representative Madinah Wilson-Anton (D), the first Muslim elected to the Delaware State Legislature, won her first reelection.
Ohio: Ismail Mohamed, one of the city’s first Somali-born attorneys licensed to practice in the state, defeated his opponent Republican J. Josiah Lanning, winning 80% to 20% of the vote.
Ismail Mohamed
Mohamed joined fellow Democrat Munira Yasin Abdullahi, who ran unopposed for the 9th House District seat, as one of Ohio’s first Somalian House representatives.
Oregon: State Senator Kayse Jama (D), the first Muslim to serve in the Oregon State Legislature, won a full elected term. He was appointed in January 2021 to fill out a vacated seat.
Pennsylvania: Democrat Tarik Khan won the race to represent State House District 194. He joined State Representative Jason Dawkins (D) who is unopposed for reelection.
Oklahoma: First-term incumbent Mauree Turner, the first Muslim elected to the Oklahoma State Legislature, won reelection to represent State House District 88.
Iowa: Incumbent State Representative Ako Abdul-Samad (D), who has served in the Iowa State Legislature since 2007, defeated independent candidate R.J. Miller to win Iowa House District 34, representing northcentral Des Moines. In a wide-margin victory, Abdul-Samad got 84.6% of the votes, according to unofficial results. Miller got 15.4% of the votes.
Michigan: Rashida Tlaib, Democrat, won the 12th District in Michigan, getting 73.7% of the votes.
Nabeela Syed
Illinois: Democrats Abdelnasser Rashid won the race to represent State House Districts 21, receiving more than 65% of the votes.
Nabeela Syed also won the race to represent State House Districts 51. They both became the first Muslims elected to the Illinois State Legislature.
Florida: State Representative Christopher Benjamin, the incumbent first-term Democrat, has already been declared the winner after his general election race was canceled due to no other challengers qualifying for the ballot.
Georgia: Incumbent State Senator Sheikh Rahman, the lone Muslim in the State Legislature, did not have a challenger for the District 5 seat. He was joined by Nabilah Islam who prevailed in the race to represent State Senate District 7.
On the State House side, Ruwa Romman became the winner to represent District 97. Islam is the first Muslim woman elected to the State Senate while Romman is the first Muslim woman elected to the State House of Representatives.
Salman Bhojani
Texas: Former Euless City Councilor Salman Bhojani, a Democrat, declared victory in his House District 92 race two hours after the polls closed. Bhojani the first Muslim to hold a seat in the Texas Legislature, according to his team. Bhojani could be joined by Suleman Lalani (D) who is leading the race to represent State House District 76.
Washington: Democrat Yasmin Trudeau, who became the first Muslim to serve in the Washington Legislature when she was appointed to fill out a vacated term in November 2021, is running for a full-term to continue representing State Senate District 27.
Deqa Dhalac
Maine: Democrat Mana Abdi made history when she was elected to represent State House District 95. Abdi was unopposed in the general election after her Republican challenger withdrew from the race after posting on Facebook that Muslims “should not be allowed to hold public office.” South Portland Mayor Deqa Dhalac joined her in the State House of Representatives after getting elected to represent the Maine House of Representatives District 120.
Minnesota: Representative Ilhan Omar, a well-known member of the progressive group known as the squad, won her third term in office.
Democrat Zaynab Mohamed is the winner in the race to represent State Senate District 63 and will be the first Muslim woman elected to the State Senate. She joined fellow Democratic State Senator Omar Fateh who won reelection.
Democratic State Representatives Hodan Hassan and Mohamud Noor have both secured reelection and were joined by Samakab Hussein who won the race to represent State House District 65A.
Keith Ellison
Keith Ellison, the incumbent Minnesota Attorney General, previously the first American Muslim elected to Congress, won another term after defeating his opponent Jim Schultz by a small margin.
New Hampshire: State Representative Aboul Khan (R), the first Muslim elected to the New Hampshire State Legislature, has secured reelection.
New York: Incumbent State Representatives Charles Fall (D) and Zohran Kwame Mamdani are unopposed, while State Senator Robert Jackson (D), the first New York Muslim State Senator won reelection, leading on poll closure with 89.14 percent of vote over Republican candidate, Donald Skinner’s 10.59 percent.
North Carolina: State Senator Mujtaba Mohammed (D) is unopposed for reelection, while State Representative Nasif Majeed (D) prevailed in his reelection in district 99, winning more than 82% of the votes.
Wisconsin: First-term incumbent State Representative Samba Baldeh (D) is running for reelection and does not have a challenger for State House District 48.
