Democrat candidate Fady Qaddoura has become the first Muslim state senator in Indiana Statehouse defeating incumbent Republican candidate John Ruckelshaus in northern District 30. Ruckelshaus had been representing the district since November 2016.
On winning the elections, Qaddoura took to Facebook vowing "to work hard every day to represent all Hoosiers including those who did not vote for me." He also thanked those involved in his campaign, his opponent and his wife and two daughters in the post. According to the Associated Press, Qaddoura had 52% of the votes against Ruckelshaus' 48% with 98% votes counted. That is an edge of around 4000 votes.
However, the Republicans have a supermajority in both the houses of the Indiana state legislature. With Qaddoura's victory, Democrats have 11 seats out of 50 in the Senate. In the house, Republicans have a 71-29 majority; a two-third majority which shall enable them to pass legislatures in the coming two years without the support of the Democrats.
Qaddoura in his campaign vowed to fight against hate politics. "We must put people before politics, and spread compassion instead of hatred," replied Fady to why he is running for the elections. Fady's priorities included public education, affordable healthcare, common-sense gun reform, passing hate crimes legislation, reproductive rights, climate change and marijuana reform.
An experienced executive, educator, researcher, and public servant, Fady has served in Indiana for 15 years. He emigrated from Jerusalem 19 years ago to study computer science.
The 44-year-old is the third candidate of Palestinian descent to have won in the US elections this year with Rashida Tlaib and Iman Jodeh. He is also not the first Muslim to have won political office from Indiana, for Andre Carson became the second Muslim to be elected to the Congress in 2008.