Bryan Espinal

Muslim candidates made historic gains in the U.S. midterms, led by Abdul El-Sayed, who becomes the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate after winning Michigan’s open seat. El-Sayed, an Egyptian-American physician, beat Republican Mike Rogers despite facing anti-Muslim attacks during the campaign. Adam Hamawy, an Egyptian-American surgeon and Army veteran who volunteered as a doctor in Gaza, becomes New Jersey’s first Muslim member of Congress. Incumbents Rashida Tlaib in Michigan and Ilhan Omar in Minnesota were re-elected. Aisha Wahab, an Afghan-American, is projected to win a full term in California. At the state level, Aber Kawas became the first Palestinian-American elected to the New York State Legislature, and Nabeela Syed flipped a Republican-held seat in Illinois’s state Senate. Muslim community outlets count at least 36 Muslim candidates winning or leading in federal, state and local races, with seven or eight heading to Congress. Many of these candidates ran on affordability, civil rights and opposition to unconditional U.S. military support for Israel. Several faced heavy outside spending from pro-Israel groups.