27-Year-Old Indian-Origin Muslim Nabeela Syed Wins Illinois 26th Senate Seat, Defeats Republican Darby Hills

Democrat Nabeela Syed, a 27-year-old Muslim woman whose parents immigrated from Hyderabad, India, in the 1980s, has defeated incumbent Republican Darby Hills to win the 26th Senate District race in Illinois.

With 94% of the estimated votes counted, Syed, of Inverness, who is serving her second term as the 51st House District representative, secured 57% of votes to Hills’ 43%.

“I am very grateful to every single person in the 26th Senate District that voted for me. And I’m grateful to everyone that voted and made their voice heard,” said Syed, speaking at a watch party in a Lake Zurich restaurant.

“We have done a lot of work to talk to people at their doorstep about the kind of government that they want to see, one that is responsive to the needs of working families in our community,” she said. “And I believe communicating that vision here locally was a large part of us flipping this district.”

She added that people are tired of a politics that doesn’t work and focuses on niche issues rather than on the fact that it is difficult for working class families to get by.

Born on April 10, 1999, in Palatine, Illinois, Syed was raised in Palatine and first entered electoral politics in 2022 at age 23 as one of the youngest ever elected to the Illinois General Assembly. She is Indian American and Muslim, and has described herself as “My name is Nabeela Syed. I’m a 23-year-old Muslim, Indian-American woman.”

In a statement issued Tuesday night, Hills thanked the people of the 26th District for allowing her to serve them over the past two years.

“I’m proud of the work we did protecting children and standing up for families. For me, this was never about politics. It was always about helping people,” she said.

The 26th District encompasses much of southern, central and western Lake County; smaller parts of Kane and McHenry counties; and portions of Barrington and Palatine townships in Cook County.

Syed said she has passed more than 25 bills with bipartisan support, taken on Big Pharma over drug prices, expanded insurance coverage for cancer screenings and preventive health care, and will prioritize lowering prescription drug costs and making mental health services more accessible.