Faith Shapes the Midterms: A Record Seven Muslims Elected to Congress
WASHINGTON — Faith played a conspicuous role in several pivotal races in the 2026 midterm elections, USA TODAY reported in a November 6 analysis. Texas Senator-elect James Talarico campaigned under the slogan "love your neighbor" and framed his race with the biblical story of David and Goliath. A Presbyterian seminary student and the grandson of a Baptist pastor, Talarico quoted Scripture openly throughout his campaign, a rarity among white Democratic candidates.
In Kansas, megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton flipped a U.S. Senate seat. In Ohio, Amy Acton became the state's first Jewish and first woman governor, her Jewish faith shaping her progressive platform. Nationwide, a record seven Muslims were elected to Congress, among them Michigan physician Abdul El-Sayed, who becomes the first Muslim U.S. senator.
NBC exit polling showed fewer than half of Catholic voters backing Republican candidates, down from the 59% of Catholics who voted for Donald Trump in 2024. Jewish voters went 68% for Democrats, down from 78% for Kamala Harris in 2024; Muslim voters backed Democrats at 86%; and voters with no religious affiliation gave Republicans 20%, down from 27% in 2024. A Council on American-Islamic Relations poll found the Iran war, the economy, rising Islamophobia and Israel's war in Gaza were Muslim voters' top concerns.
(Source: USA TODAY)
Source: USA TODAY
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：一名选民离开明尼苏达州科哈塞特市政厅投票站。A voter leaves a polling place at Cohasset City Hall, Minnesota. (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)
