2026 midterms: Abdul El-Sayed, Ilhan Omar, Melat Kiros… the winners from the African diaspora

At least fifteen candidates of African heritage were elected or re-elected in the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3, from the Senate to local councils, according to results published by the American press. The figures cited are not yet official.

In the Senate and Congress

In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, won the Senate seat left open by Gary Peters. The Associated Press called the race at 2:27 a.m. Wednesday; he had about 52 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Republican Mike Rogers, according to WKAR radio. Time magazine describes him as the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate.

In the House of Representatives, Somali-born Ilhan Omar was re-elected to a fifth term in Minnesota, according to MPR News. Joe Neguse, the son of Eritrean refugees, also won a fifth term in Colorado, according to Colorado Public Radio. In Denver, Ethiopian-American Melat Kiros, who defeated Diana DeGette in the June primary, is headed to Congress; Colorado Newsline describes her as the first Black woman elected to Congress from the state. In Maryland, Adrian Boafo, the son of Ghanaian immigrants, won Steny Hoyer's seat, according to The Baltimore Sun. Gabe Amo, whose father is Ghanaian and mother Liberian, was re-elected in Rhode Island, according to WPRI.

In the states and cities

In Maryland, Will Jawando, whose father is Nigerian, was elected Montgomery County Executive, according to WTOP. In Washington, D.C., Oye Owolewa, the son of Nigerian immigrants, won a seat on the city council. In Minnesota, Abdi Daisane became the St. Cloud area's first Somali American legislator, flipping a Republican-held state House seat by 594 votes, according to MPR News, while Kenyan-born Huldah Momanyi-Hiltsley was re-elected with 71.8 percent, according to the site Mwakilishi.

In Texas, Junior Ezeonu, born in Onitsha, Nigeria, and Odus Evbagharu, the son of Nigerian parents, won seats in the state House, according to the Fort Worth Report and the Houston Chronicle. In Connecticut, Olaleye Onikuyide, born in Hartford to Nigerian parents, was elected unopposed, according to Patch. In Georgia, Nigerian-American lawmakers Segun Adeyina and Gabe Okoye were re-elected to the state House, according to the Nigerian site Blueprint.

They join the six Haitian-born winners in Florida, whose list NAGO published on Wednesday.