More Muslim candidates seek office as 'Mamdani effect' takes hold [View all]

A growing number of Muslim candidates are seeking office following Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s (D) stunning success in New York City this year.

Last week, an Arab and Muslim American co-founder of the “Uncommitted” movement, which urged Democrats to cast 2024 protest votes over the Israel-Hamas war, launched a bid for state office in Michigan. And this week, the first Muslim woman to win elected office in North Carolina jumped into the race to represent her state in Congress. They join Abdul El-Sayed, who has been vying for Michigan’s open Senate seat, as the most high-profile Muslim candidates running next year.

Their bids come after Mamdani, a democratic socialist, was elected the first Muslim mayor of New York City in November. That same night, Virginia voted to make progressive lieutenant governor candidate Ghazala Hashmi the first Muslim woman elected to statewide office.

“We have the Mamdani effect, which now is exciting a lot more folks to think about running for office,” said Basim Elkarra, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Action, which aims to engage the American Muslim community in elections up and down the ballot.


https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5647072-muslim-americans-running-office-record/