There are fewer than 10 Palestinian Americans who have ever been elected to statewide offices in the US, and Aber Kawas is looking to add to that number.
On 23 June, the Democratic Socialist from the New York City borough of Queens is seeking the Democratic candidacy for Senate District 12, in a primary race that pits her against Filipino-American assemblyman Steven Raga.
The winner will carry their campaign through the November midterm elections, and if successful, will begin their term in New York's capital, Albany, in January.
Raga endorsed Mayor Zohran Mamdani's historic 2025 campaign. And as of last week, Mamdani endorsed Kawas in this race.
"The Mamdani movement...gave so many young people, so many people who were leftist progressives, something to do, something to lean into, something to hope for, something to channel their despair into, and they worked to knock on those doors," Kawas told Middle East Eye.
