Four Nigerian-Americans have secured victories in elective positions during the November 3 midterm elections in the United States, while the result of another candidate, Segun Adeyina, was still pending in Georgia as vote counting continued.
The successful candidates are Will Jawando, Junior Ezeonu, Oye Owolewa and Carol Kazeem, who won positions in local government and state legislatures across Maryland, Texas, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania.
In Maryland, Democratic candidate Jawando emerged victorious in the race for Montgomery County executive, defeating Republican contender Esther Wells.
Results released by NBC Washington on Wednesday showed that Jawando received 237,383 votes, representing 78.15 per cent, while Wells polled 66,383 votes, or 21.85 per cent, with 72 per cent of expected votes counted.
Jawando previously served on the Montgomery County Council. He is the son of a Nigerian father and an American mother, with his Nigerian background and political career previously highlighted by The Baltimore Banner and The Washington Post.
In Texas, 27-year-old Ezeonu won a seat in the state House of Representatives for District 101. He had defeated incumbent Chris Turner in the Democratic primary and faced no Republican opponent in the November general election.
According to his campaign biography, Ezeonu was born in Onitsha, Anambra State, before relocating to Texas at the age of two.
He was elected to the Grand Prairie City Council in 2021 and subsequently became the youngest mayor pro tempore in the city’s history.
In Washington, DC, Democratic candidate Owolewa won an at-large seat on the District of Columbia Council.
Local publication, The 51st, reported that Owolewa secured 69 per cent of the votes, while independent candidate Elissa Silverman received 21 per cent.
Owolewa, a pharmacist whose parents are Nigerian immigrants from Kwara and Osun states, previously served as the District’s elected shadow representative.
The role allows its holder to campaign for Washington, DC, statehood but does not grant voting rights in the US Congress.
Meanwhile, Kazeem, also a Democratic candidate, retained her seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing District 159.
As of Wednesday, the outcome of Adeyina’s race in Georgia had not been declared, with ballots still being counted.