Muslim Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib secured a second term in Congress on Tuesday, in a big win for the Democrats so-called “The Squad”.
US media called races for Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar and Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib, with Tlaib beating her Republican opponent by a wide margin.
Palestinian-American Tlaib and Somali-American Omar were the first Muslim women elected to Congress in 2018.
The woman are part of a quartet of like-minded congresswoman known as “The Squad” who are admired on the Left for challenging the status quo in Washington.
Squad members Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York also retained their seats.
“Our sisterhood is resilient,” Omar tweeted alongside pictures of all four women as she celebrated her victory.
“We are building a movement that sees my struggle as inherently tied to your struggle, and sees a world where all workers can be uplifted,” Omar also tweeted.
“Together. Today’s vote – the results of this election – are not the end. This is just the beginning.”
Ocasio-Cortez in particular has been the target of near-constant Republican ire – while also endorsing leftists who take on members of the Democratic party’s old guard.
The former organiser for Bernie Sanders, the long time Democratic socialist senator from Vermont, rose to prominence thanks to her informal social media personality and willingness to shake things up on Capitol Hill.❐
