Michigan Democrat Will Likely Be First Muslim Woman in Congress

Former Michigan State Representative Rashida Tlaib is expected to become the first Muslim woman to serve in Congress after winning Tuesday’s primary election and running unopposed in the November midterm election.

Tlaib, the daughter of Muslim Palestinian immigrants, will also be a far-left member of Congress. She was endorsed by Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who hopes to join Tlaib in the House.

Tlaib would be filling a House seat left empty after Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) stepped down after accusations of sexual misconduct.

Vox reported on Tlaib’s leftist credentials: 

Tlaib’s winning campaign has got a lot in common with that of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the democratic socialist who pulled off a stunning upset against Joe Crowley earlier this year.

Much like Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib captured the primary by running an unabashedly progressive campaign to the left of the competition, and she picked up much of her fundraising from a strong grassroots campaign.

“I’m going to be a woman, a mom, a Muslimah, a Palestinian, an Arab and so many of these other layers of these identities depending on who I’m talking to and what they want to identify me as,” Tlaib told CNN.

Tlaib told the Washington Post:

We need to be much more honest about the fact that the walls are not working. We need to be honest about the dehumanization on both sides, frankly. And more importantly, we need to be not choosing a side. What I bring to the table, growing up in a Palestinian-American household, and coming to Detroit, is an understanding that there’s so much comparison between what happened there and what happened to African-Americans here.

“While Congress has become more diverse in recent years, it’s still only made up of 20 percent women and 19 percent people of color. Next year, if the record number of women running actually win, that could change,” Vox reported. “Tlaib’s victory is among the historic wins that are contributing to shifting this dynamic.”

“The winner of tonight’s primary will win the election,” Andy Goddeeris, Tlaib’s campaign manager, said on Tuesday, according to 10News. “No doubt about it.”

Follow Penny Starr on Twitter.