Latino-Arab American Ammar Campa-Najjar narrowly lost in midterms, plans to run in 2020
January 7th, 20190 SAN DIEGO - In November, Ammar Campa-Najjar hoped to become the first Latino Arab-American member of Congress. Though he was facing off against Rep. Duncan Hunter – who with an ongoing finance scandal is embroiled in controversy – he faced an uphill battle. The 50th Congressional District in California – which encompasses parts of...
The real midterm elections wave wasn’t blue, it was Muslim
November 22nd, 20180 The Muslims are no longer coming—they are here! Well, in reality Muslims have been in America and contributing to it even before the nation was formed, since approximately 15 percent of the slaves from Africa were Muslim. But now Muslim Americans are “here” in a whole new way as a record number won their elections on Nov. 6....
Mississippi Senate race may be defining moment for Black voters
November 17th, 20180 JACKSON, MS — U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s (R-MS) remark to a colleague that “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row” puts the Magnolia State at center stage for Black voters in the 2018 midterm elections. Mississippi had the highest number of lynchings in the United States between 1882 and 1968,...
Donna Shalala second Lebanese American woman to enter Congress
November 9th, 20181 FLORIDA – Democratic candidate Donna Shalala won the seat vacated by retiring Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, with 51.7 percent of the votes, defeating her Republican opponent, Maria Elvira Salazar, who received 45 percent of the votes, to flip a House seat that has long been targeted by...
For Democrats, U.S. House win moves Pelosi back to center stage
November 9th, 20180 WASHINGTON — Now that the Democrats have won control of the U.S. House of Representatives, they need to choose a leader and that means solving one of their toughest puzzles: Nancy Pelosi. A contest among the Democrats for the House’s top job of speaker will play out over the next 10 weeks or so, with the formidable 78-year-old San...
Here are some facts about this midterm elections
November 6th, 20180 Control of both houses of the U.S. Congress and 36 state governorships are at stake in Tuesday’s elections, which are widely viewed as a referendum on Republican President Trump’s first two years in the White House. The following is a look at what will influence the outcome: U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES One in four Americans...
Trump agenda at stake as voters decide control of U.S. Congress
November 6th, 20180 WASHINGTON - American voters will decide whether Trump’s Republicans maintain their grip on the U.S. Congress, or if Democrats can slow the president’s agenda after a divisive campaign marked by clashes over race, immigration and trade. The first national elections since Trump captured the White House in a stunning 2016 upset is a...
Go to the polls on Nov. 6 and cast your vote
November 2nd, 20180 On Tuesday, November 6, the Arab American community must rise to the challenge and exercise their right and duty to vote. Now more than ever Arab American voters are needed at the polls to share history in the making. Rashida Tlaib won a historic race and was on her way to capitol Hill to be the first Arab American and Muslim woman to...
Blue wave poses governing risks for Democratic Party
September 23rd, 20180 A blue wave in November could not only take the House majority away from the GOP, but could also cause turmoil within the Democratic party next year, according to a report by The Hill. As a progressive wave grips the party, producing upset primary victories in cities like the Bronx, the publication writes that Democrats are bracing...Check with voter registrar — Are you still on the rolls?
You think you're a registered voter and intend to vote on November 6? U.S. citizens across the country soon will vote on all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, for 35 U.S. senators and three dozen governorships. The House of Representatives and possibly the Senate are up for grabs. Given the high stakes, voters would do...
Latino, Arab American candidate hopes to unseat indicted Republican Congressman
August 25th, 20180 Democratic Congressional candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar was working on a TV advertisement to boost his exposure when news broke that his opponent, the heavily favored Republican U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, was indicted on corruption charges. The 29-year-old former Obama administration Labor Department official whose father is a Palestinian...
Obama endorses Latino and Arab American candidate for U.S. House seat in CA
August 18th, 20180 SAN DIEGO, California — A young Democratic congressional candidate of Latino and Arab descent is running against an incumbent in a traditionally Republican district. On Wednesday, August 3, he got a boost from his old boss, former President Obama. Ammar Campa-Najjar is vying to represent California’s 50th District against...
Another historic win and counting!
August 17th, 20180 This week, Arab and Muslim Americans scored another historic victory in Minnesota where Ilhan Omar won comfortably a Congressional primary election. Omar, America’s first Somali American legislator, won the Minnesota Democratic primary for Congress on Tuesday. The seat she competed for in the Fifth District is currently held by U.S....
Ilhan Omar wins Democratic Primary for Congress in Minnesota, makes history
August 15th, 20180 Minnesota state Rep. Ilhan Omar won the Democratic primary on Tuesday for the state’s 5th Congressional District, putting her on a path to make history. Omar defeated four other Democratic candidates in a crowded race to fill the seat that opened up when Rep. Keith Ellison (D) announced his bid to become the state’s attorney...
Rashida Tlaib first Arab American Muslim woman elected to U.S. Congress
August 10th, 20180 DETROIT – On August 7, voters in the 13th Congressional District made history by choosing former State Rep. Rashida Tlaib in the Democratic Primary. This November, Tlaib will be the first Arab American Muslim woman elected to Congress – she’ll appear on the general election ballot with no opposition from a Republican candidate and......
Muslim candidates campaign in record numbers nationwide, but face backlash
July 20th, 20181 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — When Muslim American Tahirah Amatul-Wadud heard about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's stunning upset over U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley in New York's Democratic primary last month, the first-time candidate saw parallels with her own long-shot campaign for Congress in western Massachusetts. Ocasio-Cortez, a liberal woman of...
Progressive Democrats increasingly criticize Israel, which could be politically rewarding
July 13th, 20180 WASHINGTON — For decades it was seen as too politically risky to criticize Israel, but this midterm cycle a growing number of Democratic candidates have begun openly criticizing some of its policies. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the first-time candidate who upset 10-term incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley in last month’s Democratic...
First Arab American sworn in as mayor of Paterson, New Jersey
July 6th, 20180 PATERSON, NJ —Andre Sayegh was sworn in as the mayor of Paterson, New Jersey on Sunday afternoon, July 1, becoming the first Arab American to hold the city’s highest office. Sayegh’s longtime political mentor, Rep. Bill Pascrell, administered the oath of office. Following his oath, Sayegh delivered a 12-minute inaugural...
Meet the candidates aiming to become first Muslim Congresswomen
July 6th, 20180 Progressive and unorthodox candidates for Congress have been racking up major victories in the past few months, sending shockwaves and turning heads in a political arena long-dominated by White Republican men with deep pockets. On June 26, 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated a 10-term Democratic incumbent in the primaries......
Somali American seeks Keith Ellison’s seat in Congress
June 18th, 20180 MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Ilhan Omar is a Somali American politician who escaped from Somalia as a child, grew up in a Kenyan refugee camp and later immigrated to Minnesota. Years after immigrating, she became the nation’s first and only Somali American lawmaker when she won a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives in...
Paterson, NJ elects first Arab American mayor in landslide victory
May 11th, 20181 PATERSON, NJ — Andre Sayegh registered a resounding victory in Paterson’s six-man mayoral contest on Tuesday, capturing the office that he failed to gain in two previous elections. Using the theme “One Paterson”, Sayegh converted alliances he reached with community leaders from various ethnic groups into a coalition that......
Palestinian-Mexican American running for U.S. Congress in California
May 11th, 20180 SAN DIEGO — A candidate for the U.S. Congress in the state of California is hoping to become its first Latino-Arab American member by capturing a district that has voted Republican for the past 30 years. Ammar Campa-Najjar, a 29-year-old former field campaign director for President Obama, White House staffer and a labor department...Paterson, NJ elects first Arab American mayor in landslide victory
May 11th, 20180 PATERSON, NJ — Andre Sayegh registered a resounding victory in Paterson’s six-man mayoral contest on Tuesday, capturing the office that he failed to gain in two previous elections. Using the theme “One Paterson”, Sayegh converted alliances he reached with community leaders from various ethnic groups into a coalition that......
