The 2026 US midterm elections have marked a historic moment for Muslim representation in American politics, with seven Muslim Americans elected to the United States Congress, including the first Muslim to win a seat in the Senate.
The victories span different backgrounds and political journeys, from the son of Egyptian immigrants who built a career in public health to a Palestinian-American lawmaker who has become one of Congress’s most prominent advocates for Palestinian rights. They also include a former refugee from Somalia, an Afro-Latina who embraced Islam, and a physician who treated wounded Palestinians in Gaza.
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s open Senate seat, becoming the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in the November 3 election, making history as the first Muslim elected to the upper chamber of the US Congress.
In the House of Representatives, newcomers Adam Hamawy of New Jersey and Darializa Avila Chevalier of New York won seats, while incumbents Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, André Carson and Lateefah Simon secured re-election.
Together, the results mark a significant expansion of Muslim representation in the country’s federal legislature.
Adam Hamawy: The surgeon who treated Palestinians in Gaza
Adam Hamawy, an Egyptian-American physician and former US Army combat surgeon, won New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, becoming the first Muslim elected to represent the state in Congress.
Raised in a working-class family in Old Bridge, New Jersey, Hamawy studied medicine after receiving an ROTC scholarship to Rutgers University. He joined the New Jersey Army National Guard and later served as a combat trauma surgeon in Iraq, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel.
During his military service, he treated wounded soldiers, including Tammy Duckworth, who later became a US senator. After leaving the military, Hamawy continued working as a surgeon and emergency physician.
His humanitarian medical work has taken him to several conflict and disaster zones. In 2024 and 2025, he travelled to Gaza on medical missions, treating wounded Palestinians. During one mission, he and his colleagues were trapped after Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah crossing.
His experience in Gaza shaped his political campaign. Hamawy called for an end to US military assistance to Israel and made healthcare reform, universal medical coverage and the cancellation of medical and student debt among his priorities.
He defeated Republican Gregg Mele in the November election and is due to take office in January 2027.
Darializa Avila Chevalier: An Afro-Latina who embraced Islam
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Dominican-American civil rights organiser and doctoral student, won New York’s 13th Congressional District after defeating longtime Democratic incumbent Adriano Espaillat in the party primary.
Raised in a working-class Dominican family, Chevalier moved to New York to attend Columbia University. Her activism has focused on immigration, racial justice and the rights of working-class communities.
She has worked with organisations supporting immigrants facing detention and deportation, including efforts to reunite families separated by immigration enforcement. She also became involved in organising for Palestinian rights and helped lead the pro-Palestinian student encampment at Columbia University during the 2023–2024 academic year.
Chevalier embraced Islam after years of involvement in social justice movements and relationships with Muslim friends and communities. Her election marks a historic milestone as the first Latina Muslim woman elected to the US Congress.
Her campaign centred on economic justice, immigration reform, housing affordability and Palestinian rights. She won the general election against Republican Manual Williams, securing a seat in the House.
Rashida Tlaib: The Palestinian-American voice in Congress
Rashida Tlaib retained her seat representing Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, securing a fifth term in the House of Representatives.
Born and raised in Detroit, Tlaib is the eldest of 14 children of Palestinian immigrant parents. Her mother was born in the West Bank, while her father came from East Jerusalem and worked at a Ford factory after moving to the United States.
Tlaib made history in 2008 when she became the first Muslim woman elected to the Michigan legislature. A decade later, she entered Congress alongside Ilhan Omar, becoming one of the first two Muslim women elected to the House. She is also the first Palestinian-American woman to serve in Congress.
Her Palestinian heritage and Muslim identity have been central to her public life and political work. Tlaib has consistently criticised Israeli military operations and US support for Israel, calling for Palestinian freedom, self-determination and an end to the killing of civilians.
She has supported efforts to restrict US weapons transfers to Israel and has spoken repeatedly about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. In November 2023, the House of Representatives censured her following controversy over her statements about the war and the slogan “from the river to the sea”. Tlaib defended her position, saying her advocacy was for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence.
She defeated Republican James Hooper in the November election to retain her seat.
Ilhan Omar: From a Somali refugee camp to Congress
Ilhan Omar won a fifth term representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, continuing a political journey that began after her family fled the Somali civil war.
Born in Mogadishu in 1982, Omar spent part of her childhood in Somalia before her family escaped the conflict and spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya. They arrived in the United States in 1995 and eventually settled in Minneapolis.
Omar was raised in a Muslim family and has spoken about experiencing discrimination because of her faith and her hijab. She became a US citizen in 2000.
Her political career began in Minnesota, where she was elected to the state legislature in 2016. In 2018, she won a seat in the US House, becoming the first Somali-American elected to Congress and, alongside Tlaib, one of the first two Muslim women to serve there.
Omar has been a vocal critic of Israeli government policies and US military support for Israel. She has called for a ceasefire in Gaza, humanitarian assistance for Palestinians and greater oversight of American arms transfers. She has also condemned the killing of Israeli civilians and called for the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Her political career has repeatedly drawn attacks from President Donald Trump, who has made comments about her Somali background and called for her to return to her country of origin. In October, federal agents searched her Washington residence as part of an investigation into alleged immigration-related offences involving paperwork from her family’s arrival in the United States. Omar has denied wrongdoing and described the investigation as political intimidation.
Despite the controversy, she defeated Republican John Nagel to retain her congressional seat.
André Carson: A Muslim voice in Congress since 2008
André Carson retained his seat representing Indiana’s 7th Congressional District, extending a congressional career that began in 2008.
Born and raised in Indianapolis, Carson was brought up in a Baptist family by his grandmother, former Congresswoman Julia Carson. He attended a Catholic school and later explored different religious traditions before embracing Islam as a teenager.
Carson has spoken about how his interactions with Muslims in his neighbourhood influenced his spiritual journey. He said he was impressed by community members working to address crime and support people in their neighbourhood.
Before entering Congress, he worked in law enforcement and served in Indiana’s Department of Homeland Security, including its anti-terrorism division. He was elected to Congress in a special election following his grandmother’s death in 2007.
Carson became the second Muslim elected to the US House, after Keith Ellison, and in 2015 became the first Muslim member of the House Intelligence Committee.
On Palestine, Carson has opposed Israeli settlements, supported efforts to hold Israel accountable under international law and voted against several measures backing Israeli military funding. He also introduced legislation seeking justice for Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in the occupied West Bank in 2022, and has supported restoring US funding for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Carson defeated Republican Patrick McAuley and Libertarian James Sceniak to retain his seat.
Lateefah Simon: California’s first Muslim congresswoman
Lateefah Simon secured re-election in California’s 12th Congressional District, continuing her work as a civil rights advocate and lawmaker.
Born in San Francisco in 1977, Simon was born with congenital blindness. She began her career as a youth organiser and became executive director of the Young Women’s Freedom Center at the age of 19, working with young women and girls affected by poverty, violence and the criminal justice system.
Her work in civil rights and criminal justice reform later included leading the Back on Track programme in partnership with then-San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris. She also served on the Bay Area Rapid Transit board, including as its president, before entering Congress in 2025.
Simon became the first Muslim woman elected to Congress from California and the first member of Congress born with congenital blindness.
On Palestine, she has called for an end to the killing of Palestinians in Gaza and supported legislation to block the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel. She has publicly described the situation in Gaza as genocide and argued that US military assistance should not contribute to violations of international law.
Simon defeated fellow Democrat Jamie Joyce in the November election, retaining her seat.
A wider presence in American politics
The victories reflect the growing diversity of Muslim representation in American public life. The seven lawmakers come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds and reached Congress through very different paths, including immigration, refugee resettlement, military service, community organising and public health.
Their positions on Palestine have also brought renewed attention to the role of Muslim lawmakers in debates over US foreign policy, particularly Washington’s military and diplomatic support for Israel during the war in Gaza.
Palestinian-American Democrat Aber Kawas has won a seat in the New York State Senate, becoming the first Palestinian American elected to the New York State Legislature.
Meanwhile, Afghan-American lawmaker Aisha Wahab, who entered Congress after winning a special election in August, was also leading the race for a full term in California’s 14th Congressional District in early November results. The latest figures available showed her ahead of fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez, although the race had not yet been called by the Associated Press.
The election has therefore brought a historic increase in Muslim representation in Congress, while the final outcome of the California race remained to be confirmed.
