Democrat Nabeela Syed is on cloud nine: in last Tuesday’s midterm elections, the 23-year-old flipped a Republican-held district in Chicago’s north-western suburbs, becoming not only one of the youngest members of the Illinois General Assembly, but also its first Muslim.
“It was wild for me to ever consider running for office at such a young age,” she says. “And to win in a district that was carved out for a Republican.”
With the hype of last week’s midterm elections now subsiding, one thing has become apparent: Muslim and Arab Americans are running for office like never before — and winning in droves.
A total of 146 Muslim candidates ran for public office at local, state and federal levels. Forty-eight state legislative candidates ran in 23 of America’s 50 states, and 38 of those candidates won.
According to a Pew Research Centre poll, two thirds of Muslim Americans lean Democrat, and the party overall fared far better than expected in the midterms, retaining the Senate and running Republican candidates close in the House of Representatives.
While heavyweight politicians Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were handily re-elected in their respective districts, a host of young, new faces representing Muslims and Arabs in unlikely corners of America have come to the fore.
Ms Syed says she was motivated to enter politics having witnessed the rise of extremism in American politics not only at the national level, but in local school board races.
The election of Donald Trump in 2016 was “the peak” of that extremism, she says.
“Seeing that having a trickledown effect to very local offices, and the more local you get, the more it impacts your day-to-day life,” she says.
“I ran because I thought we need a more sensible leadership in all forms of office.”
Mana Abdi, 26, whose family hail from Somalia, last week became one of the two first people from the Horn of Africa country elected to office in Maine, America’s most rural state.
What are the US midterm elections and why are they so important? — video
Despite being born in a refugee camp in Kenya and unable to speak English when she immigrated to the US at age 11, Ms Abdi does not see her life journey as being improbable.
“I don’t think I’ve ever looked at anything in my life and thought: ‘Oh, I couldn’t do this,’” she says.
“I guess I don’t really view myself as a politician. I think that I’m more of an advocate.”
Ms Abdi says her motivation and fascination with politics developed while studying political science at university.
“Learning the theory and then coming back to my community in Lewistown and see those theories of identity politics impacting people in their day-to-day lives, it opened my eyes,” she says.
“It ignited my interest to ask: who is pulling the strings? Who is creating these policies that are ultimately not yielding positive results for citizens in my district?”
She ran unopposed after her Republican challenger withdrew from the race in August after drawing controversy by writing on Facebook in September 2020 that Muslims “should not be allowed to hold public office”.
US midterm elections 2022 — in pictures
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US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a Democrat rally in Washington, as President Joe Biden and their spouses Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff listen. Bloomberg -
Bill Gates, chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, speaks at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. Former astronaut and Democratic candidate Mark Kelly defeated his Republican rival in Arizona's senate race. Reuters -
Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer, left, opens mail-in ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. Ballots were being counted in Maricopa County three days after voters went to the polls for the midterm election in Arizona. AFP -
Election workers open mail-in ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. AFP -
Staff scan ballots for the US midterm elections at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. Reuters -
Election workers open mail-in ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. AFP -
In a divided America, a political campaign sign sits abandoned at the roadside in Phoenix, Arizona, two days after the midterms. AFP -
Ballots are processed in Las Vegas. Getty Images -
Election officials give a press conference in Maricopa County, Arizona, where ballots were still being counted two days after the midterms. AFP -
Ballots are carried to be scanned in Philadelphia. Reuters -
Mr Biden was all smiles during a news conference in the White House. Bloomberg -
An election worker sorts ballots in Las Vegas. AFP -
Election workers sort ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre. AFP -
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger holds a news conference in Atlanta. AP -
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso gets a hug on stage at his election night headquarters in Los Angeles. AP -
Paul Riley, father of Josh Riley, bows his head as election results come in at his son's election party in Binghamton, New York. Josh Riley, the Democratic candidate, ran against Republican Marc Molinaro. AP -
Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaks during election night in Detroit. AP -
Supporters cheer during an election night event for Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr Fetterman defeated Republican Senate candidate Dr Mehmet Oz. AFP -
Supporters watch news of a projected victory for Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Reuters -
Republican J D Vance arrives with his wife Usha to declare victory in the Senatorial race in Columbus, Ohio. Reuters -
New York Governor Kathy Hochul attends an event to celebrate her victory in the US midterm elections. Reuters -
Representative Abigail Spanberger, of the Democratic party, speaks to supporters after her re-election, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. AP -
Democrat Wes Moore, second from left, hugs his daughter, Mia, centre, as his mother, Joy Thomas Moore, left, son, Jamie, second from right, and wife, Dawn, look on, after he was declared the winner of the Maryland race for governor. AP -
A supporter of Republican candidate Lee Zeldin reacts as media outlets predict results, in the race for governor, in favour of Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul. AP -
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt celebrates his re-election, at a Republican Party watch party in Oklahoma City. AP -
Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia Stacey Abrams speaks during her 2022 US midterm elections night party in Atlanta, Georgia. Her rival Brian Kemp won. Reuters -
A woman arrives before Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters during an election night party in Tampa. AP -
Voters wait in line at a polling station at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs in Austin, Texas. AP -
A voter goes to cast their vote after filling out their ballot at a polling station inside The Shed arts centre in Manhattan. AP -
A jogger runs past the Capitol Building in Washington. The US midterm elections are held every four years at the midpoint of each presidential term. EPA -
Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis waves from the stage next to his wife Casey and children during his midterm elections party in Tampa. Reuters -
A man in costume arrives for a Republican party 'Save America' rally before the US midterm elections, in Miami, Florida. AFP -
US President Joe Biden, centre, poses for a selfie with supporters during a rally for Democratic candidates, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul, at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. AFP -
A man marks his ballot during early voting in Lansing, Michigan. Reuters -
A child attends a rally held by US President Joe Biden with Democratic nominee for Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Senator Chris Van Hollen and other Maryland Democrats, at Bowie State University. Reuters -
Supporters cheer during a rally for Democratic candidates at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. AFP -
State Representative Leslie Rossi poses by a giant cutout of former US President Donald Trump in front of the "Trump House", which she owns and created in 2016, in Youngstown, Pennsylvania. AFP -
Republican candidate for US Senate for Arizona Blake Masters speaks at a rally in Queen Creek, Arizona. EPA -
People in the crowd cheer during a campaign rally at Bowie State University in Maryland, which was attended President Joe Biden, the first lady, Jill Biden, Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore and Senator Chris Van Hollen. AP -
Republican candidate for Arizona governor Kari Lake arrives for a campaign stop, in Phoenix. Reuters -
Morgan Koetje and Nickolas Lentz from Reproductive Freedom for All, canvass a neighborhood in support of Proposal 3, a ballot measure that would codify the right to an abortion, one day before the midterm election in Dewitt, Michigan. Reuters -
Republican candidate for US Senate Herschel Walker takes a picture with supporters in Kennesaw, Georgia during a "Unite Georgia Bus Stop" campaign rally on the eve of the midterm elections. AFP -
Republican Senate candidate Val Demings speaks to supporters in Wilton Manors, Florida. AP -
Senate hopeful Mehmet Oz addresses campaign rally in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. AP -
Former president Donald Trump speaks at a rally in support of the campaign of Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance, at Dayton International Airport. AP -
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive for the rally at Bowie State University, in Maryland. AP -
Voters pass by a sign outside a polling site in Warwick, Rhode Island after casting their ballots on the last day of early voting before the midterm election. AP -
Democratic candidate for Georgia governor Stacey Abrams speaks to volunteers during an election eve phone and text bank party in Atlanta. AP -
US Vice President Kamala Harris, left, points to Los Angeles mayoral candidate Representative Karen Bass, after speaking at a rally in Los Angeles. AP
For Sami Scheetz, whose mother is from Syria, becoming Iowa's first Arab-American state representative was the culmination of years of political activism.
“I started organising for President [Barack] Obama in 2012, when I was in high school,” the 26-year-old says. He feels that running for office in the city where he grew up — Cedar Rapids — helped him over the line.
“It takes a lot of work, but it’s meaningful work.”
With Mr Trump announcing his 2024 bid for the presidency on Tuesday, the shadow of the former president’s 2016 so-called Muslim ban, when his administration stopped immigration from several Muslim-majority countries, hangs heavy for Mr Scheetz.
“His rhetoric towards immigrants and people of colour and minorities is extremely, extremely abusive and hurtful and divisive,” he says.
“We don’t need that in our politics.”
A Democrat, Mr Scheetz believes President Joe Biden, who has struggled with poor ratings in recent months, should stand for re-election in 2024.
“I think he’s done a phenomenal job,” says Mr Scheetz. “The Chips Act is going to bring tonnes and tonnes of work to Iowa.”
For Ms Abdi, however, the time for new blood in the White House is now.
“As we talk about young people voting and being engaged, that also means sometimes removing those — even myself — if I feel that I no longer have the pulse of young people,” she says.
But closer to home, for Ms Syed and her colleagues across the country, now begins the arduous work of governing in a country that is every bit as divided now as it was before the midterms. Still, it is not lost on her that this is a moment of change.
“I hope me running for office indicates to young people and young Muslim women that we belong in politics,” she says.
“We belong in spaces that we are not necessarily represented.”
Immigrant communities in Arizona fear US midterm election outcome — in pictures
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Samira Jabbar, a Venezuelan-born Palestinian American, poses inside her boutique in Phoenix, Arizona. All photos: Willy Lowry / The National -
The Islamic Community Centre of Phoenix is the site of a Maricopa County polling station. -
The polling station at the centre was closed on Sunday. -
Karina Ruiz, the executive director of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition, believes Arizona will go backwards if certain candidates are elected. -
The exterior of the Islamic Community Centre of Phoenix. -
Usama Shami, president of the Islamic Community Centre of Phoenix, worries that the US has become so divided and the seesaw of power so constant that the very fabric of the country may be coming undone.
