First ever Muslim women elected to Congress following US mid-term elections

The first Muslim women have been elected to Congress following the US mid-term elections.

Democrat Ilhan Omar, a Somali refugee, won her House of Representatives seat in Minnesota yesterday. She will succeed Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to ever be elected to the House. Rashida Tlaib also won a seat in her district, Michigan. The Detroit social worker, also a Democrat, ran unopposed. This is the first time that Muslim women have been elected to the House. They have brought the total number of Muslim representatives up to three. Also elected for the first time in Massachusetts was a black Congresswoman. Boston councilwoman Ayanna Pressley was elected to represent yesterday when she ran unopposed in her district. Marsha Blackburn also became Tennessee’s first woman senator despite the effort made by singer Taylor Swift to encourage people not to vote for her. Swift had said that the Republican's voting record in Congress "appalls and terrifies" her, stating that Blackburn had voted against equal pay for women and against protecting women from domestic violence. She also criticised Blackburn's treatment of the LGBT community and her beliefs around gay marriage. Kamari Guthrie, director of communications for Vote.org, said that 65,000 people registered to vote in the 24-hour period following Swift's message.