Madinah Wilson-Anton (born 1993) is an American politician serving in the

Delaware House of Representatives The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...

for district 26 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. She is the first practicing Muslim elected to the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisl ...

. She defeated incumbent John Viola in the Democratic primary and later won the general election for the seat in 2020.

Early life and education

Wilson-Anton grew up in

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is home to the Uni ...

; she graduated from the Charter School of Wilmington before continuing on to the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...

. In March 2017,

CBSN CBS News (formerly CBSN, also known as the CBS News Streaming Network) is an American streaming video news channel operated by the CBS News and Paramount Streaming divisions of Paramount Global. Launched on November 6, 2014, it features blocks ...

quoted Wilson-Anton when the Biden Institute was founded at the

. 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 The Master of Public Policy (MPP), is one of several public policy degrees. An MPP is a master's-level professional degree that provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focu ...

, also from the University of Delaware.

Career

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. 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 A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

. ''

The News Journal ''The News Journal'' is the main newspaper for Wilmington, Delaware, and the surrounding area. It is headquartered in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near New Castle, and is owned by Gannett. History The ancestry of the News Jo ...

'' republished a tweet in which Wilson-Anton criticized her former boss. Jaques formally apologized. As a Legislature Fellow, she voiced disappointment after two legislators protested an Islamic prayer.

Delaware House of Representatives

2020 Delaware House campaign

Wilson-Anton's 2020 campaign focused on

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether i ...

, and health care, and she has stated support for a state-level

Green New Deal Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...

. Her campaign was endorsed by the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Ne ...

. 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. She defeated 22-year incumbent representative John Viola in the primary election by 43 votes. Because the district is solidly- Democratic, Wilson-Anton won the November general election with minimal opposition and became the first practicing Muslim elected to Delaware's state legislature. ''

Christian Century ''The Christian Century'' is a Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Considered the flagship magazine of US mainline Protestantism, the monthly reports on religious news; comments on theological, moral, and cultural issues; and revi ...

'' noted that four other states elected their first Muslim legislators, in 2020. Iman Jodeh, Christopher Benjamin,

Mauree Turner Mauree Nivek Rajah Salima Turner (born 1992 or 1993) is an American politician and community organizer. A member of the Democratic Party, they have served as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives since 2021. Turner is the first publi ...

and

Samba Baldeh Samba Baldeh (born September 10, 1971) is a Gambian-American immigrant, information technology professional, and Democratic politician. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 48th Assembly district since 2021. He is t ...

were the first Muslim legislators in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Oklahoma and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, respectively.

Tenure

Wilson-Anton's first bill expanded public school religious holiday policies to include minority faith holidays like Eid al-Fitr. Along with State Senator

Sarah McBride Sarah McBride (born August 9, 1990) is an American activist and politician who has been a Democratic member of the Delaware Senate since January 2021. She was previously the National Press Secretary of the Human Rights Campaign. After winning ...

, Wilson-Anton called on fellow State Representative Gerald Brady to resign after he made racist comments toward

Asian-Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...

in a leaked email.

Electoral history

2020

References

External links

Legislature website

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson-Anton, Madinah 1993 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Delaware House of Representatives African-American Muslims Women state legislators in Delaware African-American state legislators in Delaware African-American women in politics Women in Delaware politics Members of the Democratic Socialists of America 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians University of Delaware alumni 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians