The young politicians with African roots making history in the US midterms
Watch: Abdul El-Sayed thanks supporters for backing ‘unlikeliest of candidates’
It was an unlikely greeting to hear at a Democratic Party victory rally after the US midterm elections.
Abdul El-Sayed, 42, born to Egyptian immigrant parents, playfully addressed Vice-President JD Vance, who had campaigned against him but will now swear him into office in January as Michigan’s new Senator.
The US-born Democrat spent much of his campaign fending off attacks from conservative media and President Donald Trump, who accused him of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed rejected the allegations.
“My name is Abdul Rahman Mohammed El-Sayed,” he said in an Egyptian Arabic accent to the cheering crowd at his victory rally. His Arabic Muslim name was a target for many of his opponents. He is set to become the first Muslim senator.
El-Sayed ran a social media-first campaign, with TikTok edits showing him speaking directly to young voters, tapping into Gen Z humour, and sporting friendship bracelets.
The former public health administrator’s campaign centred on a progressive agenda, including Medicare for All, affordable housing and curbing corporate influence in politics. He has also been a vocal critic of US military aid to Israel.
But El-Sayed was not alone. From an Ethiopian-born Gen Z congresswoman to candidates with Nigerian heritage, several other politicians with African roots won in this year’s midterms.
The elections, held halfway through a president’s four-year term, decide who represents Americans in Congress, as well as in thousands of state and local offices.
Born in Addis Ababa, Melat Kiros’ family moved to Denver when she was a baby
At 29, Melat Kiros became the first Gen Z woman elected to the US Congress.
Born in Ethiopia, she arrived in the US as a baby and grew up in Denver. She had never held elected office before defeating a 15-term incumbent in Colorado’s 1st District in the Democrat primary before winning a landslide in Tuesday’s election.
Kiros, like El-Sayed, campaigned on issues that have become central to young progressive voters: the cost of living, universal childcare and Medicare for All.
Endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, she has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ending US military aid to Israel.
Her outspoken criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza has attracted controversy. Kiros has said her criticism is directed at the Israeli state, not Jewish people.
She was fired from a top New York law firm in 2023 after she refused to take down an open letter to dozens of law firms who had urged law school deans to crack down on antisemitism on campuses as students engaged in pro-Palestinian protests.
Kiros condemned antisemitism, but warned the law firms, including the one she worked for, against conflating “such bigotry with the geo-political question of Israel’s legitimacy”.
She said she started thinking more seriously about politics in general after being fired.
Adrian Boafo’s parents moved from Ghana to the US
Adrian Boafo, meanwhile, a second-generation Ghanaian-American, will represent Maryland’s 5th Congressional District after succeeding veteran Congressman Steny Hoyer, who retired after a political career spanning more than four decades.
The 32-year-old was born in Virginia and raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland. His parents immigrated to the US from Ghana.
Boafo’s route to Congress began in local politics. He served on the Bowie City Council before becoming a Maryland state delegate in 2023. He also worked for Hoyer before eventually winning the race to replace him.
His campaign focused on the cost of living, childcare and protecting federal workers, a major issue in a district close to Washington DC and home to thousands of government employees.
In his victory statement, Boafo said representing his constituents had “never felt more urgent”, pointing to federal job cuts, rising costs and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Among those returning to Congress is Somali-born Ilhan Omar, 44, who won a fifth term despite an ongoing federal investigation.
Federal agents searched her Washington home in October as part of an investigation into her immigration paperwork. Omar has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.
First elected to Congress in 2018, Omar became the first Somali-American and one of the first Muslim women to serve in the chamber. She has also been a frequent target of President Trump, who has repeatedly criticised her and other Somali immigrants.
Trump has previously used derogatory language to describe some African countries, including Somalia. In October, his Yemeni-born adviser Amer Ghalib said the president would refrain from using such language.
Others made their breakthroughs in state and local politics.
Junior Ezeonu was born in Nigeria and moved to the US as a young child. By 27, he had already become Grand Prairie’s youngest city council member before winning a seat in the Texas State House.
Then there is Carol Kazeem, 34, a Pennsylvania state legislator of Nigerian heritage who has retained her seat at District 159. At least four candidates with Nigerian heritage won in the 3 November midterms.
For some young Africans watching from across the Atlantic, these victories have offered a glimpse of what a new generation of voters could achieve at home.
On social media, users have shared the election results as a source of inspiration, particularly in Nigeria and Kenya, where major elections are due in 2027.
Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, external, on Facebook at BBC Africa, external or on Instagram at bbcafrica, external
Related topics
BBC Africa podcasts
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.