Six Nigerian-Descended Candidates Win U.S. Midterm Offices

Six candidates of Nigerian descent won U.S. state or local offices in the November 3 midterm elections, according to results reported by November 4, with victories in Maryland, Texas, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Georgia. The six named winners were Will Jawando, Junior Ezeonu, Oye Owolewa, Carol Kazeem, Gabe Okoye and Segun Adeyina. Their posts include a county executive role, state legislative seats and a seat on the District of Columbia Council. The reports do not establish a complete nationwide total of Nigerian-descended winners; an earlier list named additional candidates in other states and local races. In Maryland, Jawando won the race for Montgomery County executive, defeating Republican Esther Wells. Final results published by the Maryland State Board of Elections showed Jawando with 242,676 votes, or 77.91%, and Wells with 67,640 votes, or 21.71%. Jawando, who had served on the Montgomery County Council since 2018, will succeed outgoing County Executive Marc Elrich, who was barred by term limits from seeking another term. Ezeonu won Texas House District 101 after running unopposed in the general election. He had secured the Democratic nomination by defeating...