Muslim candidates make history in the US midterms: Abdul El-Sayed becomes the first Muslim elected to the US Senate
Muslim candidates have made history in the United States midterm elections. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed — an Egyptian-American physician and former public-health official — defeated Republican Mike Rogers to become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, on the Associated Press's call, in a race in which President Trump had called him a 'jihadist'. At least seven Muslim candidates were elected to Congress in all: El-Sayed in the Senate and six in the House, including two newcomers — Adam Hamawy, the Egyptian-born former Army combat surgeon who treated wounded Palestinians in Gaza, as New Jersey's first Muslim member of Congress, and Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York — alongside the re-elected Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, André Carson and Lateefah Simon. In state legislatures, Palestinian-American organiser Aber Kawas became the first Palestinian American elected to the New York state legislature. Daily Trust, which queued this story, reported the results were won despite a campaign marked by a surge in anti-Muslim rhetoric and attacks targeting Muslim communities.
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This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
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Key points
- Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan is the first Muslim elected to the US Senate — AP called his race at 52.4% against Mike Rogers.
- At least seven Muslim candidates were elected to Congress, including New Jersey's first Muslim congressman, Adam Hamawy, and New York newcomer Darializa Avila Chevalier.
- Palestinian-American Aber Kawas became the first Palestinian American elected to the New York state legislature.
- The wins came through a campaign in which the Senate winner was called a 'jihadist' by the president and named in more than 38,000 anti-Muslim posts, on a research centre's count.
What happened
Muslim Americans had reached the House of Representatives before — Keith Ellison was the first Muslim elected to Congress in 2006, and Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were the first Muslim women elected to the House in 2018 — but the Senate had never had a Muslim member-elect. The 2026 midterms, which also flipped control of both chambers to the Democrats, broke that barrier and widened the House contingent at the same time.
Several of the winners are Palestinian-American or campaigned prominently on Palestinian rights — Tlaib in the House, Kawas and Romman in state senates — and Hamawy's biography runs through Gaza itself, where the former Army surgeon treated wounded Palestinians. Daily Trust framed the night as history made 'despite a campaign marked by a surge in anti-Muslim rhetoric and attacks targeting their communities' — the framing this page's claims test and, on the named results, bear out.
Claim by claim
Why this label: Verified on AP's call and tally as reported by People and Religion News Service (read via search in this run), with USA Today, Reuters (via IQNA) and Le Monde in agreement on the result and the first. Vozia's live midterms story carries the Michigan race itself; this page carries the representation milestone and the results beyond that one race. The certified totals are a later step and are not claimed here.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Verified as reported by USA Today's diversity-of-the-midterms report (read via search in this run), which carries Trump's words and the Center's count, with Reuters' account (via IQNA) carrying El-Sayed's own characterisation of the campaign against him. Trump's words are carried as what he said; the 38,000-post figure is the Center's count, attributed to it, not independently audited by this page.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Verified across three independent roundups in agreement — The Business Standard's report of The New Arab's account, Islamicity's results roundup and News Trends (read via search in this run) — on the total of at least seven and on each name and district. Hamawy's Gaza service is part of Daily Trust's queue report and of his public record as an Army combat surgeon; it is carried as background, not as a claim about the result.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (2 more)
Why this label: Verified across The Business Standard / The New Arab account and Islamicity's roundup in agreement on Kawas, Syed and Romman (read via search in this run), with ANI's report (via Al Arabiya) carrying Kawas's vote share and first. These are state races reported by roundups rather than called by a single wire on this page; the labels reflect that agreement, and later certified totals will replace the vote share if it moves.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Labelled not yet verified: the 36 figure mixes won and merely leading races in early reporting (News Trends, read via search in this run) and will move as counts finish; the page carries the settled congressional and named state results as its verified core and leaves the running total here until it is final.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- El-Sayed is the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, on AP's call, and at least seven Muslim candidates were elected to Congress.
- Aber Kawas is the first Palestinian American elected to the New York state legislature.
- The named House and state results in the claims were reported in agreement by at least two independent roundups.
What we don't know yet
- The final all-levels total of Muslim candidates elected — early reports put at least 36 as won or leading, still moving.
- The certified vote totals in each race, which land state by state in the coming weeks.
- Whether any of the state-legislature results face recounts or challenges — none had been reported in the sources read.
Why it matters
Representation firsts are the slow arithmetic of a democracy changing: a Senate that has sat since 1789 gains its first Muslim member, a state legislature gains its first Palestinian American, and a surgeon who treated Gaza's wounded takes a House seat — all in one night, and all through campaigns in which their faith was used against them in the open. For Vozia's readers across Africa and the diaspora, it is the human detail inside the midterms' headline result.
Background
Show the background timeline (4)
Keith Ellison becomes the first Muslim elected to the US Congress (House of Representatives).
Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar become the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
Midterm election day: El-Sayed wins Michigan's Senate race; six Muslim candidates win House seats; Kawas, Syed and Romman win state senate races.
The new Congress convenes; El-Sayed is due to take his Senate seat.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state (crawler #1864 of the 05:09Z crawl, 6 Nov — that crawl's top-scored queued item at 93; worked from AP-called and multiply-reported results, not from the single queue carry, as the 05:09 scan directed). JUDGE AUDIT: (1) headline, slug, SEO title and summary all state the same milestone — Muslim candidates' historic wins, El-Sayed first Muslim senator — and no race is stated beyond its call; (2) the Senate and House results are Verified on AP's call and on three agreeing roundups, and the all-levels total is Not yet verified because it mixes won and leading; (3) every number (52.4 / 45.6, at least seven, 38,000 posts, about 75 per cent, at least 36, 160-plus) traces to its named source; (4) there is no 'other side' to an election result — the attacks on the winner are carried with their sources, and his reply as his position; (5) certified totals are in the don't-know list; (6) photo is a labelled Capitol file photo, probed 200; video check made, none oEmbed-verified, none attached; (7) translations added in all 13 languages in the same run (no FR/AR full text to drop).