With less than two weeks until Election Day, CAIR Action NJ, the state’s largest Muslim political advocacy group, today rolled out endorsements for 35 candidates across New Jersey, including sixteen running for the State Assembly and Mussab Ali in the hotly-contested race for mayor of Jersey City.
None of the legislative endorsements came in the most closely watched contests.
“Building coalitions is how our communities can build political power — not for one group, but for all who seek justice and belonging. For Muslim Americans and other marginalized communities, this work is about transforming solidarity into shared strength,” said Ali Aljarrah, the state lead of CAIR Action NJ. “Through these endorsements, CAIR Action NJ is helping grow a movement of leaders who reflect the courage, conviction, and unity needed to build an ironclad New Jersey — one that stands firm in its commitment to equity and justice for all.”
Endorsements went to seven incumbents, all Democrats: Al Abdelaziz (D-Paterson), Joseph Danielson (D-Franklin), Kevin Egan (D-New Brunswick), Camen Morales (D-Belleville), Gabriel Rodriguez (D-West New York), Balvir Singh (D-Burlington), and Michael Venezia (D-Bloomfield).
CAIR Action NJ is also backing four candidates who are certain to win their races in November: Katie Brennan and Ravi Bhalla in the 32nd, Chigozie Onyema in the 28th, and Larry Wainstein in the 33rd.
Donna Abene in the 39th, Guy Citron in the 23rd, Maureen Rowan in the 2nd, Carolyn Rush in the 1st, and Freshta Taeb in the 12th also won the group’s support.
In addition to Ali, a former Jersey City Board of Education president, CAIR Action NJ endorsed Joel Brooks for a city council seat in Ward B and Jake Ephros for the Ward D seat. They are backing Mike Ramaglia and Christina Schratz for Passaic County Commissioner, and Ibby Omar in a special election for Abdelaziz’s old city council seat.
CAIR Action NJ endorsements also went to: Alicia Holman, Christopher Awe, and Tameika Garret-Ward, East Orange City Council; Sarjil Mansuri and Taha Shaikh, Edison Board of Education; Shepa Uddin, Franklin Township Council, Ward 2; Aysha Hasan, Moorestown Board of Education; Zaire Ali, North Brunswick Board of Education; Habeebah Haqq, Piscataway Board of Education; Joanna Congalton-Hall, Ridgefield City Council; Alisha Khan, South Brunswick Board of Education; Noha Sadany, West Orange Board of Education; and Hanif Payak, West Windsor Board of Education.
