Madinah Wilson-Anton

Madinah Wilson-Anton (born 1993) is an American politician that will be serving in the Delaware House of Representatives as a Democrat for District 26. She is the first practicing Muslim elected to Delaware's State Legislature.

Madinah Wilson-Anton
Member-elect of the Delaware House of Representatives
from the 26th district
Assuming office
January 2021
SucceedingJohn Viola
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceNewark, Delaware, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Delaware (BA, MPP)
ProfessionPolicy analyst

Early life and education

Wilson-Anton grew up in Newark, Delaware and graduated from the University of Delaware.[1][2] In March 2017, CBSN quoted Wilson-Anton when the Biden Institute was founded at the University of Delaware.[3] Wilson-Anton, then a graduate student, welcomed the move, stating that Biden's work had inspired her, and she planned to work in government upon graduation. In 2020, she earned a Master of Public Policy, also from the University of Delaware.[4]

Career
Madinah Wilson-Anton Twitter
@MadinahForDE

As a legislative aide for Jaques, I talked with residents in the 27th district every day and helped them solve the issues they were dealing with. Drag shows...wasn't one of them.

October 23, 2019[5]

Wilson-Anton worked as a legislative aide for two members of Delaware legislature, Earl Jaques of the 27th district, and John Viola of the 26th district.[6] In October 2019 Jaques mocked Eric Morrison, his rival for the Democratic nomination for his seat, for holding a fundraiser where he performed as a drag queen. The News Journal republished a tweet in which Wilson-Anton chastised her former boss. Jaques formally apologized.

When Wilson-Anton announced she was competing for the Democratic nomination reporters noted that, if elected, she would be the first practicing Muslim to serve in the Delaware legislature.[7][8]

She voiced disappointment that senior legislators fell short of her expectations when she first started working as a Fellow in the legislature, and two legislators complained about her taking time for prayers.[7]

She defeated 22-year incumbent representative John Viola in the primary election by 43 votes.[9] Because the district is solidly-Democratic, Wilson-Anton won the November general election with minimal opposition.[10][11][12][13]

She is a policy analyst at the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware and was a former legislative aide for Representative Viola.[14]

2020 State House campaign

Wilson-Anton's 2020 campaign focused on education, housing, and health care, and she has stated support for a state-level Green New Deal. Her campaign was endorsed by the Working Families Party.[15]

Christian Century noted that four other states elected their first muslim legislators, in 2020.[16] Iman Jodeh, Christopher Benjamin, Mauree Turner and Samba Baldeh were the first muslim legislators in Colorado, Florida, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, respectively.

Electoral history

2020
Delaware House of Representatives District 26 Democratic Primary, 2020[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Madinah Wilson-Anton 1,276 42.68
Democratic John Viola (incumbent) 1,233 41.24
Democratic Gabriel Olawale Adelagunja 481 16.09
Total votes 2,990 100.0
Delaware House of Representatives District 26 General Election, 2020[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Madinah Wilson-Anton 6,930 71.57
Republican Timothy Conrad 2,753 28.43
Total votes 9,683 100.0

References
  1. Aris Folley (March 21, 2020). "Madinah Wilson-Anton one step closer to becoming Delaware's first practicing Muslim lawmaker". The Hill. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020.
  2. "Meet The Black Woman Who Just Became The First Muslim Elected to Office in Delaware's 233-Year History". BOTWC. September 24, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  3. Anita Oh (March 13, 2017). "University Of Delaware Launches Biden Institute". CBSN. Philadelphia. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2020. 'I think Biden coming here will help bring awareness to public administration and what we do,' said graduate student Madinah Wilson-Anton.
  4. Dem, Delaware (September 18, 2019). "A Primary for the 26th RD?". Blue Delaware. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  5. Madinah Wilson-Anton [@MadinahForDE] (October 23, 2019). "As a legislative aide for Jaques, I talked with residents in the 27th district every day and helped them solve the issues they were dealing with. Drag shows...wasn't one of them" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. Sarah Gamard (October 23, 2019). "Rep. Jaques apologizes for 'insensitive' comments about opponent's drag show fundraiser". The News Journal. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2020. Madinah Wilson-Anton, who used to work as Jaques' legislative aide and is running in a separate House race in 2020, tweeted about Jaques' original comments to The News Journal on Wednesday.
  7. Marisa Harczuk (October 19, 2020). "Madinah Wilson-Anton defeats 11-term incumbent in primaries, would be first Muslim Delaware State Rep if elected in November". University of Delaware Review. Retrieved October 22, 2020. If elected, Wilson-Anton will be the first practicing Muslim to become a member of the Delaware General Assembly. Previously, she was a legislative fellow in the state legislature and a legislative aide for both the 26th and 27th districts. She said she knows what it feels like to be discriminated against and is happy and fortunate to stand up for others that have been put in similar situations.
  8. Randall Chase (October 20, 2020). "Delaware Senate race conjures comparison with 2010 campaign". Tulsa World. Dover, Delaware. Retrieved October 22, 2020. Former legislative aide Madinah Wilson-Anton defeated a House lawmaker who'd held office for 22 years and could become the first Muslim elected to the General Assembly.
  9. Josh Shannon (September 16, 2020). "Progressive challengers unseat two longtime Newark-area Democrats". Newark Post. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020.
  10. "Meet The Black Woman Who Just Became The First Muslim Elected to Office in Delaware's 233-Year History". BOTWC. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  11. Folley, Aris (September 21, 2020). "Madinah Wilson-Anton one step closer to becoming Delaware's first practicing Muslim lawmaker". TheHill. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  12. Grim, Ryan; Higgins, Eoin (September 15, 2020). "A Slate of Insurgents Is Taking on the "Delaware Way" [Updated With Results]". The Intercept. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  13. "Progressive candidates in Delaware take on veteran Democrats". AP NEWS. September 12, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  14. "$26 for 26 in the 26th: Graduate student Madinah Wilson-Anton is running for State House".
  15. Schmidt, Sophia (September 16, 2020). "Diverse slate of progressive candidates upsets Democratic incumbent lawmakers". www.delawarepublic.org. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  16. Dawn Araujo-Hawkins (2020-11-16). "Religious diversity in the election". Christian Century. Retrieved 2020-11-18. More than 100 Muslims ran for office this year, and five states elected their first Muslim state lawmakers. Madinah Wilson-Anton was elected to the Delaware House of Representatives, while Iman Jodeh won a seat in Colorado’s house. In Florida, Christopher Benjamin was elected to the House of Representatives, and Mauree Turner was elected to the Oklahoma legislature. Samba Baldeh was elected to the Wisconsin’s State Assembly.
  17. "2020 State Primary Election Report". Delaware.gov.
  18. "2020 General Election Report". Delaware.gov.
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