WHATS STATES HAVE MUSSLIM MAYORS OR GOVERNERS
Executive summary
Several U.S. cities now have Muslim mayors after the 2025 elections: Zohran Mamdani became New York City’s first Muslim mayor (Nov. 2025) and Abdullah Hammoud was re‑elected mayor of Dearborn, Michigan (2022, re‑elected 2025) — bringing at least two prominent Muslim mayors to major-city leadership [1] [2]. At the statewide level, Ghazala Hashmi won Virginia’s lieutenant governor race and is reported as the first Muslim woman elected to statewide office in the U.S.; available sources do not list any Muslim governors in U.S. states [3] [4] [5].
1. What changed in 2025: historic mayoral wins
The 2025 elections produced landmark firsts: Zohran Mamdani’s victory made him New York City’s first Muslim mayor — a historic development for the nation’s largest city and its largest Muslim population [1] [6]. Dearborn, Michigan, long notable for its large Arab‑American and Muslim population, retained a Muslim mayor in Abdullah Hammoud, who has served since 2022 and was re‑elected in 2025 [2] [7]. News outlets and aggregations describe these results as part of a broader surge in Muslim candidates winning municipal and state offices in 2025 [8] [4].
2. Governors: no Muslim governors reported in these sources
The supplied reporting highlights statewide breakthroughs — notably Ghazala Hashmi’s win as Virginia lieutenant governor, described as the first Muslim woman elected to statewide office in the U.S. — but none of the sources identify any U.S. state governors who are Muslim [3] [4]. The sources explicitly emphasize firsts at the mayoral and lieutenant‑governor levels and do not mention Muslim governors; therefore, available sources do not mention any Muslim governors [3] [4].
3. How many Muslim mayors and where — what the sources enumerate
The sources directly name at least two Muslim mayors of large cities: Zohran Mamdani in New York City and Abdullah Hammoud in Dearborn [1] [2]. Aggregated reporting and organizational tallies cite dozens of Muslim officeholders elected in 2025 across multiple states — a report claimed “42 Muslim Americans” won offices across nine states, including mayors, legislators and judges — but these are aggregate counts across many localities rather than a definitive list of which states have Muslim mayors [8]. Local and national outlets highlight multiple municipal wins but do not provide a single comprehensive state-by-state roster in the supplied material [8] [7].
4. Regional patterns and context
The wins reflect concentration where Muslim and Arab‑American communities are sizable — e.g., Dearborn, Michigan — and in large, diverse urban centers like New York City where coalition politics played a decisive role [2] [6]. Commentators frame 2025 as a turning point for Muslim political representation, noting prior progress — Muslim members of Congress and state officials — and connecting recent victories to long‑term organizing and demographic shifts [4] [9].
5. Competing narratives and political pushback
Coverage includes both celebratory and critical voices. Mainstream outlets and advocacy groups portray these victories as milestones for inclusion [8] [6], while partisan and fringe commentary (cited examples in the provided search results) attack or sensationalize Muslim officeholders; those pieces reflect culture‑war framing rather than mainstream reportage [10] [11]. Readers should note that some outlets use alarmist language or ideological frames that aim to stoke fear or grievance; the substantive reporting from The New York Times, NBC, The Guardian and others focuses on electoral facts and candidate backgrounds [6] [3] [1].
6. Limits of the available reporting and what we cannot confirm
The supplied sources do not present a full, state‑by‑state list of current Muslim mayors or indicate every municipality with Muslim leadership; therefore I cannot produce a comprehensive roster from these materials alone — available sources do not mention a complete state list [8]. The sources also do not name any Muslim governors, so claims about Muslim governors would be unsupported by the provided reporting [3] [4].
7. What to watch next
Follow official election certifications and local government rosters for finalized lists; advocacy groups such as CAIR and local election offices typically publish detailed rollups of elected Muslim officials, but those lists are not included in the supplied sources [8]. Meanwhile, national coverage is likely to track how newly elected Muslim leaders govern, how coalitions hold, and whether the 2025 cycle represents a durable expansion of representation or a single electoral moment [4] [6].
If you want, I can compile a state-by-state check using local election pages and municipal websites (not in the current search results) to build a complete list of cities with Muslim mayors and confirm whether any state has a Muslim governor.