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Which states have the highest number or percentage of Muslim state-level officeholders?
Executive summary
Available reporting in the provided sources highlights landmark 2025 victories for Muslim candidates — notably Ghazala Hashmi’s election as Virginia lieutenant governor, the first Muslim woman to win statewide office [1] — and a broader wave that resulted in "42 Muslim Americans" elected across nine states, according to a CAIR-linked tally cited by Radiance [2]. The available reporting names multiple states with notable Muslim officeholders (New York, Virginia, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey and others) but does not provide a state-by-state ranked list of either total counts or percentages of Muslim state-level officeholders; that granular breakdown is not found in the current reporting (not found in current reporting).
1. Historic wins that change the headline figures
Ghazala Hashmi’s victory as Virginia’s lieutenant governor was repeatedly reported as a first: the first Muslim woman elected to statewide office in U.S. history [1], confirmed across major outlets including The New York Times and NBC News [1] [3]. Parallel high-profile results — Zohran Mamdani’s rise to New York City’s mayor in the same election cycle — underscore concentrated visibility for Muslim officeholders in those states [4] [1].
2. Where reporting names multiple states with Muslim officeholders
Outlets and advocacy groups in this sample point to at least nine states seeing Muslim candidates win offices in 2025: New York, Virginia, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey and others are explicitly mentioned in reporting or in the Radiance/CAIR summary of 42 victories [2]. Specific personnel cited include Zohran Mamdani (New York), Ghazala Hashmi (Virginia), Abdullah Hammoud and Mo Baydoun (Michigan), Faizul Kabir (Maryland), and Ted Green (New Jersey) [2].
3. What the sources do and do not quantify
Radiance’s summary — attributed to CAIR and CAIR Action — gives a headline number for 2025: 42 Muslim Americans elected across nine states, including five mayors and four state legislators [2]. However, none of the provided articles supply a breakdown by state that would let us determine which state has the highest absolute number of Muslim state-level officeholders, nor any per-state percentage of state-level offices held by Muslims (not found in current reporting). The New York Times et al. focus on historic individual wins rather than comprehensive tallies by jurisdiction [1].
4. How to interpret “highest number” vs “highest percentage”
“Highest number” usually tracks absolute counts and will favor large states with many elected offices and dense Muslim populations (e.g., New York, Michigan, New Jersey). “Highest percentage” compares Muslim officeholders to the total pool of state-level offices in a state and often favors smaller states or those with few offices if even one or two Muslim officials hold high-profile roles. The available sources identify significant wins in populous states (New York, Michigan, New Jersey) and a milestone statewide win in Virginia [1] [2], but they do not provide the raw counts or denominators needed to calculate either metric (not found in current reporting).
5. Competing perspectives and potential reporting agendas
Advocacy organizations such as CAIR emphasize parity and historic milestones — their tally of 42 victories frames the election cycle as a breakthrough for Muslim civic participation [2]. Mainstream outlets (The New York Times, NBC, CNN) foreground the symbolic significance of firsts (Hashmi, Mamdani) and campaign dynamics, including faith-based attacks Hashmi faced [1] [3] [5]. These emphases reflect different agendas: advocacy groups highlight aggregate gains and representation, while national press highlights symbolic “firsts” and narratives that resonate broadly.
6. How you could get the definitive answer
To determine which state leads in raw counts or percentage of Muslim state-level officeholders would require a compiled roster of elected state-level officials (state legislators, statewide constitutional officers and perhaps judges, depending on your definition), with religious self-identification for each — data not present in the supplied reporting. In practice you’d combine: a) CAIR’s or other groups’ comprehensive post-election tallies (if they publish a state-by-state breakdown), b) state legislative directories, and c) self-identification statements or candidate bios. The sources here do not provide those elements (not found in current reporting).
7. Bottom line for your original question
Based on the provided coverage, we can say several states had notable Muslim officeholders or historic wins in 2025 — prominently New York and Virginia, and mentions of Michigan, Maryland, and New Jersey [1] [2]. The specific answer to “which states have the highest number or percentage of Muslim state-level officeholders” is not available in these sources; a definitive ranked list or percentage breakdown is not included in the current reporting (not found in current reporting).