Aber Kawas captured 75% of the vote in New York’s 12th State Senate District, winning Tuesday’s special election to become the first Palestinian-American woman elected to the state legislature, detikNews reported. With 90% of ballots counted, the 34-year-old Democrat held a commanding lead, though Spectrum News NY1 put her total at 74.3% in figures cited by Liputan6.com. The Muslim woman of Palestinian Arab descent won the Democratic primary in June before the November 3, 2026 vote.
The victory extends a wave of Democratic Socialists of America candidates in New York following Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win last year. Kawas, who wears a hijab, campaigned on universal healthcare, reliable public transit, affordable housing, and an end to war funding. She has pledged to advance the New York For All Act, which would bar state and local agencies from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
She will represent a swath of Queens that includes Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside, Ridgewood, Maspeth, Elmhurst, Glendale, and Jackson Heights, according to Warta Ekonomi.
I’m running to be the first Palestinian Muslim woman elected in New York State. That’s making the right wing very angry. Before you hear their Islamophobic, bad faith attacks against me, know the facts. pic.twitter.com/VT6VQJIwm4
Kawas Ran on “Fund Dignity, Fight Destruction”
The senator-elect built her campaign around a two-part slogan: “Fund Dignity, Fight Destruction.” The first half refers to healthcare for all, fast and reliable public transportation, and affordable housing, while the second reflects her stance on the climate crisis, immigrant protection, and rejection of war funding, detikNews reported.
She received endorsements from Mamdani, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, according to CNN Indonesia.
From Labor Activism to the State Senate
Before entering electoral politics, Kawas spent more than 15 years as a community organizer advocating for workers’ rights, immigrant communities, and Palestinian rights, Middle East Eye reported via CNN Indonesia. She grew up in Brooklyn, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants who arrived in the 1990s.
Her activism included direct action. This year, she was arrested during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to New York for the UN General Assembly, then released, CNN Indonesia reported. She also criticized a $750,000 contract between the NYPD and surveillance company Cognyte, which the department canceled last week after objections from civil rights groups.
In May 2023, Kawas worked with Mamdani—then a state assemblyman—and State Senator Jabari Brisport to draft the “Not On Our Dime!” Ending New York Funding of Israel Settler Violence Act,” which would have barred New York charities from funding organizations tied to Israeli settlements, according to Liputan6.com. The bill failed after facing opposition from legislators. Kawas told Middle East Eye that “no one had actively introduced legislation to fight for the human rights of the Palestinian people” in New York before their bill.”
9/11 and Deportation Shaped Her Politics
Kawas has said the September 11, 2001 attacks changed her sense of security as a child in Brooklyn. Muslim families in her neighborhood lived in fear of surveillance and deportation, and her father was deported to Jordan when she was in high school, altering her family’s financial circumstances, CNN Indonesia reported.
Kawas Co-Drafts Anti-Settler Funding Bill
What specific bill did Aber Kawas help draft in 2023?
She co-drafted the “Not On Our Dime! Ending New York Funding of Israel Settler Violence Act” with Zohran Mamdani and State Senator Jabari Brisport, Liputan6.com reported. The bill sought to prevent New York-registered charities from funding groups involved in Israeli settlements.
Why was Aber Kawas arrested this year?
She was arrested during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to New York for the UN General Assembly and later released, CNN Indonesia reported.
Which neighborhoods are in New York Senate District 12?
The district includes Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside, Ridgewood, Maspeth, Elmhurst, Glendale, and Jackson Heights, Warta Ekonomi reported.
In a victory poster on X, she wrote: “First Palestinian-American elected in New York State: Aber Kawas,” alongside a Palestinian flag.
Posting on X after her win, Kawas wrote: “We made history.”
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