Record number of American Muslims contesting U.S. Mid Terms 2026
A record number of American Muslims are contesting the U.S. Midterm elections 2026 scheduled to be held on November 03, 2026.
A record number of American Muslims are contesting the U.S. Midterm elections 2026 scheduled to be held on November 03, 2026.
The outcome of the U.S. Mid Term Elections will decide who – Democrats or Republicans, will control the U.S. Senate and Congress.
Any setback for Republicans is set to undermine the sweeping power U.S. President Donald Trump is now enjoying.
As per the latest statistics, a record-breaking slate of Muslim Americans is running across federal, state, and local races in what is billed as the most polarizing elections in the U.S. history.
Though the exact number is not available, an analysis of over 22,700 candidates in the fray by the Muslim Network TV showed around 100 Muslims are in the race.
Prominent among them are seasoned politicians Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, André Carson, and Lateefah Simon who are running for re-election.
Others included Aisha Wahab who had won the California’s 14th District Special Election, becoming the first Afghan American elected to the U.S. Congress in August 2026 Special Elections.
Also in the race is Adam Hamawy - Egyptian-born American plastic and reconstructive surgeon, humanitarian, U.S. Army veteran, who is contesting as a Democratic Party nominee from New Jersey for the first time.
Contesting for the first time is also Dr. Mohamed Zuhdi Jasser, an American physician, religious and political commentator, and prominent Muslim reformer based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is best known as the founder and president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD).
Yet another popular American Muslims contesting the 2026 U.S. Midterm Polls is Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. He is contesting for the Senate elections. He will be the first Muslim in the American Senate if he wins. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed had created history after winning the Michigan Democratic Primary for Senate in August this year.
255 Muslim Elected Officials currently in US
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), America's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, and CAIR Action had in August this year released the 2026 Directory of Elected Muslim Officials, identifying a record-breaking 255 Muslim elected officials serving across 26 states and at nearly every level of government.
As per the latest version of the directory of American Muslims released by CAIR, local government represents - 38.4% of all Muslim elected officials, the largest share of Muslim elected leadership.
As many as 63 Muslim elected officials are in education sector, 46 Muslim officials are serving as state representatives or state senators, American Muslims are Mayors in 11 U.S. cities, 18 American Muslims are serving as judges in different U.S. courts, U.S. Congress or the House of Representatives has 04 Muslims whereas 98 American Muslims are council members, as per the updated CAIR directory.
The CAIR directory also demonstrates significant representation of Muslim women in elected office listing 110 of the toal 255 as women.
The results of the 2026 US Mid Term elections will reveal if the number of Muslims is increasing as hate campaign and Islamophobia are under at alarming level this elections. As per the election schedule, polling for the Midterm polls will begin early in the morning on Tuesday November 03, 2026 with the results likely to start tricking in soon after the polling ends on the same day.
[Mohammed Abdullah Faizee is Journalism Trainee at ummid.com.]
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