Candidate seeks to become first U.S. Muslim governor

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON

Voters head to the polls in the state of Michigan on Tuesday as Abdul El-Sayed seeks to become the first Muslim governor in U.S. history.

The Muslim doctor and Rhodes Scholar was former Detroit Health Department director. He has firmly staked his campaign on universal healthcare for all residents, tuition-free college education, and a $15 hour minimum wage.

Like progressives before him, El-Sayed has also refused to accept any corporate money from special interest groups.

He faces a tough uphill battle in the Democratic primary as he is currently lagging behind front-runner Gretchen Whitmer, according to the latest polling numbers.

But the Democratic hopeful cites the upset victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York, as well as Senator Bernie Sanders’ win over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Michigan Democratic presidential primaries as evidence he has the potential to win.

In the run-up to Tuesday’s polls, both Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders joined forces to boost El-Sayed in the gubernatorial race.

"Two days before the 2016 Michigan primary, Sen. @BernieSanders was down 36 points in the polls. He won that race — and showed Michiganders were (sic) ready for a politics that stands for all of us," said El-Sayed in a tweet.

The 2018 midterm elections have seen a record number of Muslims running for political office since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to Jetpac, an organization helping Muslim-Americans run for political office. Since the election of President Donald Trump, there has been increased anti-Muslim rhetoric in the political sphere. In 2017, there was a 15 percent rise in Islamophobic related crimes in the U.S., as per a study from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

And yet, there were as many as 90 Muslim candidates running for political office in 2018, according to Jetpac. The number has dropped to 41 as candidates have either been eliminated or withdrew from contests.

Jetpac stressed, however, this is still a significant increase compared to prior elections.

“We’ve got an opportunity to fundamentally change the game,” El-Sayed said in a national organizing call.

Other Muslims running for office include Rashida Tlaib who is running in Michigan, Ilhan Omar running in Minnesota, and Sameena Mustafa running in Illinois. The female trio are seeking seats in the House of Representatives.

If any one of them were to win, they would become the first Muslim woman elected to Congress.