Imraan Siddiqi, a Muslim first-time candidate for US Congress, gets endorsements

Imraan Siddiqi, a Muslim resident in the Seattle area of Washington state, who has entered his district's US congressional race to unseat a Democratic incumbent over her position on Gaza, has received several prominent endorsements, giving his campaign a boost.

This week, his campaign announced that he has been endorsed by multiple Democratic elected officials, including Washington State Senator Yasmin Trudeau, Bothell City Council Member Rami Al-Kabra, Northshore School Board Member Han Tran, and Redmond City Council Member Osman Salahuddin. 

In addition to these endorsements, his campaign has also announced that around a week after their launch, they have raised around US$223,000 in grassroots donations, a significant amount for a newcomer.

"People are clearly dissatisfied with the current leadership and are clamouring for moral clarity in this pivotal moment in time," Siddiqi said in a statement issued from his campaign on Wednesday. "Those who have endorsed my campaign are embracing change forthcoming. There is no wrong time to do the right thing."

Washington state's 8th congressional district, currently represented by Kim Schrier, is solidly Democratic, meaning that whoever wins the primary on 6 August is expected to win the general election in November. Within solidly blue districts, however, progressive candidates have been making gains over the last several election cycles, particularly with younger voters and immigrant communities.

In the 2024 election season, Israel and its war in Gaza has emerged as a key issue for many voters as the bombing and death toll, now at more than 36,000 for Palestinians, continues with no end in sight. Multiple polls and surveys have shown that the majority of Americans and the vast majority of Democrats support a ceasefire in Gaza.

So far, nearly 100 members of Congress have called for a ceasefire in Gaza, including at least three from the state of Washington. Shrier is not among them. In fact, she voted to defund UNRWA, the Palestinian relief agency, motivations for Siddiqi to challenge her in the Democratic primary.

If elected, Siddiqi would be the first Muslim of Indian descent to serve in the US Congress. He is currently taking a sabbatical from his position as executive director of the Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations while he runs for office.