Abdelnasser Rashid
American politician
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Abdelnasser Rashid is an American politician serving as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 21st district since 2023. A Democrat, Rashid defeated redistricted incumbent Michael J. Zalewski in the primary election. The district includes the Southwest Side and southwest suburbs.[1]
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(redistricting)
University of Chicago (MBA)
Abdelnasser Rashid | |
|---|---|
Rashid in 2025 | |
| Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 21st district | |
| Assumed office January 11, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Edgar Gonzalez Jr. (redistricting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) University of Chicago (MBA) |
Rashid is the first Palestinian-American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly and is its first Muslim member, along with Nabeela Syed.[2]
Early life and education
Rashid was born in Chicago, Illinois.[3] He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Economics from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.[4]
Career
Rashid worked on Chuy García's 2015 mayoral campaign and on the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. He also served as deputy chief of staff to Cook County Clerk David Orr for two years.[5]
In 2018, Rashid unsuccessfully ran for Cook County Commission for the 17th district, narrowly losing to Republican incumbent Sean M. Morrison by 1.14% of the vote. In 2020, he unsuccessfully ran for Cook County Board of Review.[3] Rashid was re-elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2024.
Rashid has passed more than ten laws and was appointed to co-chair Illinois' AI Task Force. He received the Illinois Environmental Council's 2025 Milestone Achievement Award for his bill HB2516, which phases out cancer-linked per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from consumer products.[6][7]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Abdelnasser Rashid | 4,214 | 52.3 | |
| Democratic | Michael Zalewski | 3,838 | 47.7 | |
| Total votes | 22,059 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Abdelnasser Rashid | 14,800 | 65.9 | |
| Republican | Matthew Schultz | 7,644 | 34.1 | |
| Total votes | 49,609 | 100.0 | ||