Muslim candidates won nearly 100 races nationwide on Election Day with an additional 20 races not yet decided.
The first Muslim was elected to the U.S. Senate in history and several Palestinians were elected to state seats. At least 97 Muslims were elected to state, federal and local offices in 21 states, according to an analysis of election data by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Muslims won 38 state legislative races and 59 federal, state and local government elections, CAIR said. The 97 wins surpass 82 reported in 2022, an 18% increase.
There were 168 Muslim candidates who ran for office this year who made it past their primaries. Fifty lost their primaries.
After Election Day, 15 Muslim candidates are leading in races that votes are still being counted and six are in races that are too close to call, CAIR said. The number of Muslims expected to win their elections is expected to increase, surpassing 100, it added.
Muslims won races in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington, according to the data.
The news comes after CAIR launched a nationwide initiative, Muslims.Vote, a nonpartisan civic engagement campaign to equip American Muslims with tools and resources to vote, The Center Square reported.
Of the estimated more than 8 million Muslims in America, more than 2.5 million are registered to vote in the U.S.
The Muslims.Vote platform didn’t endorse candidates. It provided voter registration information, personalized election information, ways to look up polling places, voting rights information, voting planning tools, civic engagement resources and advocacy toolkits.
CAIR also worked with mosques to register people to vote, as well as campus outreach and other initiatives.
“Voting is more than a constitutional right – it is an amanah, a trust and responsibility,” CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said. “Muslims.Vote was created to remove barriers to civic participation by putting everything voters need in one place.”
CAIR’s initiative was launched as Christian, Jewish and nonpartisan nonprofit organizations also launched similar voter registration and get out the vote initiatives.
Three high profile wins were in Michigan, Minnesota and New York.
Democrat Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed was the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. In his victory remarks he spoke English and Arabic. He defeated Republican and former congressman Mike Rogers in an open and close race.
A Muslim Brotherhood-linked organization celebrated El Sayed’s primary win earlier this year. The Trump administration designated the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization. El Sayed has denied any connect to the organization despite family members reportedly having done so, Michigan News Source reported.
The first Somali elected to Congress, Democrat U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, won reelection in Minnesota, speaking Somali in her victory speech. Omar is under federal investigation for marriage and immigration fraud. After the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel, she was among 23 Democrats who voted against a resolution condemning Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations.
The first Palestinian elected to the New York state legislature, Aber Kawas, won her SD 12 seat after interning for CAIR. She was one of a handful of Palestinians elected to state office in the U.S. and is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
