Re-election for Tlaib and Omar, First Muslim Women to Serve in US Congress

The Democratic Party’s Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar – the first two Muslim women to serve in the United States Congress – have won re-election to the US House of Representatives.

Tlaib, who is also the first woman of Palestinian descent in the US Congress, was re-elected on Tuesday for a fourth term as a representative for Michigan with support from the large Arab-American community in Dearborn.

Omar, a former refugee and Somali American, retook her seat for a third term in Minnesota, where she represents the strongly Democratic 5th District, which includes Minneapolis and a number of suburbs.

A leading critic of US military support to Israel in its war on Gaza, Tlaib ran uncontested in her primary and defeated Republican James Hooper to represent the solidly Democratic district in Dearborn and Detroit.

Omar is also a sharp critic of Israel’s war on Gaza.

In a post on social media, Omar thanked her supporters for all their hard work in her election campaign.

“Our hard work was worth it. We knocked on 117,716 doors. We made 108,226 calls. And we sent 147,323 texts. This is a victory for ALL of us who believe that a better future is possible. I can’t wait to make you all proud over the next two years,” she said.

Tlaib and Omar are both members of the informal group of lawmakers known as “The Squad”, which is made up of progressive members of Congress including Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, among others.

Other “Squad” members Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri both lost their party primaries against opponents who had won substantial support from the pro-Israel fundraising group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

The group has invested more than $100m in US political races this year in a bid to silence pro-Palestine voices in Congress.