The four Palestinian Americans on the US midterm ballot
From congresswoman seeking fifth term to a Queens organizer who could make history, four candidates of Palestinian descent are running as Israel's genocide in Gaza reshapes Muslim American politics
WASHINGTON (MNTV) – Of the 51 Muslim Americans that MNTV has identified on the ballot in the Nov. 3 US midterm elections, four are Palestinian American — a small number, but one carrying particular weight at a moment when the genocide in Gaza has become a defining issue for Muslim and Arab voters across the country.
They range from one of the best-known members of Congress to first-time and first-ever candidates for state office.
All four have built their public lives, in different ways, around the Palestinian experience and the politics of belonging in America.
Rashida Tlaib — Michigan, US House
The most prominent is Rashida Tlaib, who is seeking a fifth term representing Michigan’s 12th District, anchored in the Detroit area.
Born in Detroit in 1976, the eldest of 14 children of Palestinian immigrants, she grew up in a working-class household and became the first in her family to graduate from high school before earning a law degree.
She served in the Michigan House from 2009 to 2014.
In 2018 Tlaib was elected to Congress, where, alongside Ilhan Omar, she became one of the first two Muslim women to serve, and the first Palestinian American woman.
She wore a Palestinian thobe to her swearing-in.
A member of the progressive group of lawmakers known as the “Squad,” she is among Washington’s most outspoken critics of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, and in 2023 the House voted to censure her over her comments on the genocide.
Iman Jodeh — Colorado, State Senate
Iman Jodeh was raised in Aurora, Colorado, by politically active Palestinian immigrant parents; her father helped found the Colorado Muslim Society, according to The New Arab.
She taught classes on Islam and Palestinian history at the University of Denver and, in 2008, founded the nonprofit Meet the Middle East to bridge misunderstanding between the United States and the region.
She has also been active in the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado.
Elected to the Colorado House in 2020, Jodeh became the state’s first Muslim and first Palestinian American lawmaker, as the Colorado newspaper 5280 reported.
She was appointed to the state Senate in 2025 and is now running for a full term in District 29.
Ruwa Romman — Georgia, State Senate
Ruwa Romman was born in Jordan to a Palestinian family whose grandparents were displaced in the 1948 Nakba, and moved to Georgia at the age of seven.
She studied politics at Oglethorpe University and earned a master’s in public policy from Georgetown, later working in government affairs and helping to restart Georgia’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Georgia Muslim Voter Project.
In 2022 she won a seat in the Georgia House, becoming the first Muslim woman elected to the state legislature.
During the 2024 Democratic National Convention, the “Uncommitted” movement — the primary-season protest over US support for Israel’s genocide — put her forward to speak on the main stage about the Palestinian experience; convention organizers declined, and she delivered her remarks outside the hall instead.
She is now running for the state Senate in District 7.
Aber Kawas — New York, State Senate
Aber Kawas, a community organizer in her mid-30s, grew up in a Palestinian immigrant family in New York.
Her undocumented father was detained after the Sept. 11 attacks, held for nearly three years and deported to Jordan — an experience she has said shaped her politics.
She began organizing at her mosque and spent more than a decade with the Arab American Association of New York, working on immigrant rights, language access and police reform.
Backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Kawas won the June Democratic primary for Senate District 12, covering Astoria, Long Island City and other parts of western Queens.
If she wins in November, she would be the first Palestinian American in the New York state legislature.
Her campaign has also drawn a wave of attacks from Zionist and conservative outlets over her activism.
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
