Who are potential Muslim candidates running for Congress in the upcoming election cycle?
Executive summary
A growing number of Muslim Americans are running for and winning offices, with at least 76 Muslim candidates on 2025 ballots and 38 confirmed victories reported by CAIR; advocates expect that participation to increase into the 2026 congressional cycle [1]. National trackers like Ballotpedia list candidates for the 2026 congressional elections but do not provide a curated list of "potential Muslim congressional candidates" in their aggregate pages; specialist groups such as CAIR and Muslims.Vote remain the most direct sources tracking Muslim candidates and elected officials [2] [3] [4] [1].
1. Why the question matters: Muslims are a growing political cohort
Advocates and trackers report record participation by Muslim Americans in recent cycles—CAIR documented at least 76 Muslim candidates on ballots in 2025 and 38 confirmed wins, and independent reporting has documented a surge of Muslim officeholders at local and state levels that observers expect to feed into federal candidacies for 2026 [1] [5]. That expansion changes the talent pool for Congressional races and explains why organizations are preparing directories and targeted outreach for the 2026 midterms [1].
2. What public trackers do and don’t provide
Ballotpedia maintains comprehensive lists of congressional candidates for the 2026 cycle and provides filing and scheduling details, but it does not classify candidates by religion on its general pages; therefore it’s not a shortcut for identifying which contestants are Muslim [2] [3]. CAIR and Muslims.Vote actively track Muslim candidates and provide directories and scorecards tailored to the community; CAIR announced plans to release a 2025–2026 Directory of Elected Muslim Officials and is soliciting updates from campaigns [1] [4].
3. Who currently serves and who that suggests might run again
As of recent reporting, multiple Muslim members hold U.S. House seats—Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and André Carson were reelected in 2024—creating incumbency anchors that shape who might run or seek leadership roles in future cycles [6] [7]. Available sources do not list an authoritative roster of declared Muslim challengers for every 2026 congressional contest; for that granular view you must consult candidate lists on Ballotpedia alongside CAIR’s tracking to identify individual faith backgrounds [3] [1].
4. Notable recent firsts that change the dynamics
Historic outcomes in 2025—such as municipal wins (Zohran K. Mamdani’s mayoral victory) and a larger cohort of Muslim officeholders—have increased name recognition and infrastructure for future federal runs, a dynamic CAIR highlights as a reason to expect more Muslim candidates in 2026 [8] [1] [9]. These victories create pipeline effects: local officeholders often become congressional candidates over subsequent cycles [1] [5].
5. Limitations in current reporting and why individual verification matters
Public sources used here either catalog overall candidate pools (Ballotpedia) or focus on Muslim-specific tallies (CAIR, Muslims.Vote), but none provide a definitive, up-to-the-minute public list of every Muslim who has declared a run for Congress in 2026; therefore any answer must be assembled by cross-referencing Ballotpedia’s candidate rosters with CAIR’s directory and campaign statements [2] [3] [1] [4]. Available sources do not mention a single consolidated list of "potential Muslim congressional candidates" for the upcoming cycle—this is a reporting gap [2] [3] [1].
6. How to track potential Muslim congressional candidates now
Combine Ballotpedia’s List of congressional candidates in 2026—searching by state/district and individual bios—with CAIR’s candidate outreach and Muslims.Vote resources, which flag community candidates and publish directories and scorecards; CAIR is actively soliciting campaign updates to finalize its 2025–2026 Directory in January [3] [1] [4]. Local news outlets and campaign filings (state election boards) are the last-mile sources to confirm a candidate’s background and current declaration—neither Ballotpedia nor CAIR replaces those primary records [2] [1].
7. Competing perspectives and political context
Advocacy groups emphasize a narrative of rising civic power and record representation among Muslim Americans [1] [5]. Some mainstream outlets frame these gains as incremental and tied to local-build strategies that may or may not translate into substantial new Congressional seats in a single cycle [5] [10]. Both perspectives agree there is momentum; they disagree on the speed and scale of federal-level translation. Reporters should watch for candidate recruitment by both parties and for shifting district lines—California’s Proposition 50, for example, may alter 2026 congressional maps in ways that affect where Muslim candidates choose to run [8].
If you want, I can: (a) cross-check Ballotpedia candidate pages for specific states or districts you care about and flag names that CAIR or Muslims.Vote reference; or (b) assemble a working list of likely 2026 Muslim congressional contenders by state using the two trackers cited above. Sources used: Ballotpedia candidate pages and listings [2] [3]; CAIR/CAIR Action reporting and outreach [1]; Muslims.Vote resources [4]; recent election coverage demonstrating incumbents and local wins [6] [7] [8].