Voters in five states casted ballots in primary elections Tuesday, August 4 and in five more states Tuesday, August 11. 

In Wisconsin, African-American of Gambian descent Samba Baldeh handily beat out three other candidates with almost 50 percent of the vote to become the first Muslim headed for the Wisconsin state assembly and probably the first African-American of Gambian descent to sit in any state legislature.   

We featured Baldeh the last issue of Port Of Harlem.
He appears on POH Talk Radio, Thu, Aug 20, 8:30p. To call in, dial 516-531-9540 or go to the POH Talk Radio page and click the "Current Show" to hear or to write a comment.

Here are a few more outcomes you may find interesting:

Minnesota:  Ilhan Omar prevailed. According to the Omar campaign, the congresswoman increased her margin of victory by 9.15% over 2018, despite being outspent by 400%.  She is one of three Muslims in the US Congress - - all Midwesterners.

Michigan: Representative Rashida Tlaib narrowly beat Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones in 2018 by 900 votes. This month, the Muslimah decisively beat her by more than 35,000 votes. Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress, represents a district that is more than 50 percent Black.

Missouri: Cori Bush, who is a single mother, registered nurse, and activist backed by the progressive group Justice Democrats, unseated the 10-term Democratic House incumbent William Lacy Clay and ending the Clay family's 52-year dynasty. His father held the seat for 32 years.

Arizona: Joe Arpaio, the 88-year-old former sheriff of Maricopa County who was convicted of criminal contempt after disobeying a federal judge's order to stop racial profiling, lost his comeback bid. He only avoided jail after a pardon from President Trump.  

Kansas: Kris Kobach, another staunch Trump supporter, lost his party’s nomination for the Senate. Republicans had feared his candidacy would give Democrats a better chance to take the seat — and, potentially, a Senate majority.

And, New York has certified Bronx Councilmember Ritchie Torres’ nomination as the Democratic candidate for a US House seat. This paves the way for him to become one of the first two openly Gay Blacks to sit at the 435-seat table and the second who identifies as African-Puerto Rican.

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Baldeh appears on POH Talk Radio, Thu, Aug 20, 8p. To call in, dial 516-531-9540 or go to the POH Talk Radio page and click the "Current Show" to hear or to write a comment. It all starts Thursday, August 20, 2020.