US midterms: Three Palestinian-Americans secure seats
US midterms: Three Palestinian-Americans secure seats
Palestinian-Americans Rashida Tlaib, Ruwa Rumman and Abdel Nasser Rashid, alongside Somali-American Ilhan Omar, have won seats in the US midterm elections.
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Rashida Tlaib secured her seat as representative for Michigan’s 12th district [Getty]
Three Palestinian-Americans and one Somali have won seats following the country's midterm elections on Tuesday.
Palestinian-American Rashida Tlaib - alongside Somali-American Ilhan Omar - secured their positions as congressional representatives for the Democratic Party.
Tlaib - who has previously served as Congresswoman and confronted President Biden over his support for Israel - won her seat as the representative for the state of Michigan’s 12th congressional district.
Ruwa Rumman and Abdel Nasser Rashid won local state House of Representative seats.
To every single volunteer, thank you for protecting people's right to vote. Thank you for caring enough. Thank you for showing up with joy and love.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 9, 2022
Tonight, we will show folks that our community is beautifully loud and powerful. We aren't going to be silenced. pic.twitter.com/7yWh6P199t
Ruwa Romman won her place to represent Georgia's 97th state house district and has been labelled a "trailblazer" by supporters for being the first Muslim woman to serve in the state's General Assembly.
We did it y’all. We made history in Georgia! I cannot fully express my thanks to everyone who supported our campaign. So many of those who volunteered with us had never done political work before. (1/4) #GAPol #Ruwa4Georgia
— Ruwa Romman (@Ruwa4Georgia) November 9, 2022
Rashid won a seat as the state representative for Illinois's 21st district, also making history as the first Palestinian Muslim to do so, according to Jetpac Resource Centre, which trains American Muslims and allies to run for public office.
Congratulations to our first official Palestinian Muslim #Illinois State Representative for the 21st District Abdelnasser Rashid. He Has Officially Won Alhamdulillah. @rashidforil #ElectionDay #election pic.twitter.com/HEgKNDJoWF
— Arab chicago (@ArabChicago) November 9, 2022
Omar - a pro-Palestinian politician who previously served as a representative for the state of Minnesota's 5th congressional district - was also re-elected.
In Minnesota we don’t just welcome refugees, we send them *back* to Congress. pic.twitter.com/I8Ngz85oU2
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 9, 2022
Votes are still being counted in several states, as the Democrats enjoy a stronger-than-expected showing in the elections.
However, the possibility remains that Republicans could end up controlling both the House and the US Senate.
Former President Donald Trump has spent months teasing a 2024 presidential run and suggested to supporters on the eve of Tuesday's midterms he could throw his hat in the ring as soon as next week.
Biden has warned Americans that the election will shape the US "for decades" - as early complaints of election fraud have marred the first stages of vote counting across key states.
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