At least 37 Muslim candidates won or are leading the race in the 2026 midterm elections in the USA.
In the midterm elections in the USA, 8 candidates were elected to the US Congress, 7 of them to the House of Representatives and 1 to the Senate. The number of Muslim candidates elected or leading in the vote count for state legislatures was 27, and the number of Muslim candidates elected to positions at the judiciary and local government levels was 2. The election results revealed the growing presence of Muslim candidates at every level of American politics, from the US Congress to state legislatures and local governments.
Among the 37 Muslim politicians who won or led the race in the midterm elections, the name that achieved the most remarkable result was Abdul El-Sayed, who was elected to the Senate from the state of Michigan. The Democratic candidate, who was the target of Islamophobic accusations due to his faith, became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate by defeating Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers.
Ilhan Omar in Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib in Michigan, Andre Carson in Indiana and Lateefah Simon in California managed to be re-elected to the House of Representatives.
Adam Hamawy won New Jersey's 12th district, becoming the first Muslim member of the House of Representatives elected from that state. Dominican Muslim candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, known for her support for Palestine, was among the winning candidates in New York's 13th electoral district.
Aisha Wahab, a Muslim politician of Afghan origin who entered the House of Representatives by winning a special election for a vacant Congressional seat in August, was elected to a full term this time in California's 14th electoral district.
In the US Midwest, many Muslim candidates have won or emerged as frontrunners in elections for state legislatures.
While Abbas Alawieh, Alabas Farhat and Jalal Abdallah were leading in the State Congress elections in Michigan, Munira Abdullahi and Ismail Muhammed won the elections in the regions where they competed for the Ohio House of Representatives.
Illinois State House of Representatives member Nabeela Syed won the Republican-held seat in the 26th State Senate district to the Democrats. Abdelnasser Rashid is expected to retain his seat in the Illinois House of Representatives, while Mariam Saad Bazzi was re-elected as a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.
In Minnesota, state congressmen Omar Fateh and Zaynab Mohamed won the elections. Mohamud Noor and Samakab Hussein retained their seats in the election they entered unopposed. In Oregon, State Senate member Kayse Jama retained his seat, while in Washington, Osman Salahuddin was ahead with 69 percent of the votes in the State House of Representatives elections.
In the northeastern United States, Aber Kawas won the New York State Senate 12th district. Robert Jackson, known as New York's first Muslim state senator, retained his seat in the elections he entered unopposed.
In Connecticut, Maryam Khan and Saud Anwar also won elections for the State Senate. MD Masosu Rahman, who was contesting in the 4th constituency of the State Senate, was also re-elected by defeating his Republican opponent.
Among the Muslim candidates, Madinah Wilson-Anton retained their seats in the state congresses in Delaware and Tarik Khan in Pennsylvania.
In the south of the USA, Ruwa Romman won the 7th district of the Georgia State Senate. Sheikh Rahman retained his seat in the election, which he entered unopposed. Farooq Mughal regained his former seat in the Georgia State House of Representatives.
In Texas, State Congress members Salman Bhojani and Suleman Lalani were re-elected. Also in Texas, Letitia Plummer was elected as the top local administrator of Harris County, becoming the highest-ranking Muslim public official in the executive position in Texas history.
North Carolina State Senator Mujtaba Mohammed also retained her seat. Iman Jodeh won in the 29th district of the Colorado State Senate.
The new seat distribution is expected to be finalized once the counting of the remaining votes in the elections is completed.
