SMFNews: Maryland Muslim Caucus Members Win Reelection
ANNAPOLIS — Three Muslim members of Maryland’s House of Delegates — the founders of the state’s Legislative Muslim Caucus — won reelection in the Nov. 3 general election, according to unofficial returns from the Maryland State Board of Elections.
Del. Sean A. Stinnett of Baltimore City District 41, Del. Sarah Wolek of Montgomery County District 16, and Del. Caylin Young of Baltimore City District 45 each kept their seats. Maryland Matters reported earlier this year that the three launched the Legislative Muslim Caucus in February, timed to Muslim Lobby Day in Annapolis.
What the returns show
In District 16, Wolek finished among the top three vote-getters in a race that elects three delegates, with 38,314 votes in the unofficial statewide tally.
In District 41, Stinnett finished second among the three winners with 24,704 votes.
In District 45, Young finished third among the three winners with 21,866 votes. Provisional ballots were still marked as not reported on the Board of Elections pages reviewed for this story.
Sean A. Stinnett — District 41
Stinnett has served in the House of Delegates since March 2025 and chairs the Legislative Muslim Caucus. In an April interview with The Diamondback, he said he created the caucus to elevate Muslim voices and lived experiences in Annapolis.
At a March press conference covered by Maryland Matters, Stinnett said the caucus’s place among other legislative caucuses made its voice more valuable as lawmakers pushed shared priorities late in the session.
Sarah Wolek — District 16
Wolek, appointed in 2023 and now reelected, is the first Muslim woman to serve in the Maryland General Assembly, a milestone noted by the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business when she was sworn in. She sits on the Appropriations Committee and was a member of the three-person Muslim Caucus this year.
During the 2026 session, Wolek sponsored legislation, supported by the caucus, to designate commemorative heritage months for Muslim Americans and Jewish Americans. At a March hearing, she told lawmakers both communities “have deep roots and history in our state,” according to The Diamondback.
Caylin Young — District 45
Young, first elected in 2022, was reelected in District 45 and is one of the three founding members of the Legislative Muslim Caucus. Maryland Matters reported that when the caucus launched in February, Young thanked House leadership for arranging a room for Muslims to pray during Ramadan.
A caucus built this year
The Legislative Muslim Caucus became the General Assembly’s newest caucus when it launched on Feb. 16. Maryland Matters later reported that it joined six other caucuses — including the Asian American and Pacific Islander, Black, Jewish, Latino, LGBTQ+ and Women’s caucuses — in a joint “We are Maryland” push late in the session.
The three reelected delegates will return for the next legislative session with that caucus already on the books. Their wins sit alongside SMF’s earlier coverage of Muslim candidates for Congress and Muslim winners in state and local races nationwide.
Sources
Maryland State Board of Elections — District 16 results; District 41 results; District 45 results; Maryland Matters, Feb. 16, 2026; Maryland Matters, March 25, 2026; The Diamondback, April 24, 2026; University of Maryland Smith School, April 24, 2023; Maryland State Archives delegate pages for Stinnett, Wolek and Young.
Comments